Taste in music
by Ranunculusfox
Summary: Gajeel, who hates techno, is hired as a body guard for the world famous D.J Solid Script, aka Levy McGarden. When he influences her style of music by exposing her to the world of jazz, Levy's ends up mixing songs more fit to Gajeel's taste, but he has already fallen in love with watching how completely absorbed in her music she is on stage. FT & characters are owned by Hiro Mashima
1. Chapter 1

His phone vibrated on the table in front of him as he received a new text message. It read "Gajeel, I've got a new job for you. Come to the office after your performance for information. -Makarov"

He grunted to himself as he continued wiping down his guitar and listening to the ongoing performance in front of him. He was sitting towards the right of the stage in a dark corner, waiting for his turn on the stage. Currently a woman dressed in a long dark blue gown that matched her hair was singing in a low voice while a bass and trumpet player played a slow jazzy number, and couples slow danced on the floor to his left. Her voice was as smooth as the tide coming in, and he sung the words under his breath. He knew these words by heart, as he had written the song for the woman singing it on stage. Her name was Juvia, and she happened to be his adopted sister.

As the audience stopped dancing to snap their fingers in lieu of applause, Juvia curtsied in thank you, and a few red roses were thrown on stage for her. Her band members went to retrieve them as she spoke a word of thanks to the audience in the microphone.

"Thank you, Juvia thanks you all so much. Juvia would now like to introduce the next performance, please give a warm welcome to my brother, Black Steel Gajeel!"

Gajeel stood and placed the neck strap to his matte black bass guitar around him and walked onto the stage, the audience continued to snap their fingers rhythmically to welcome him to the stage. The bass player on stage set his instrument down and took his place behind a set of drums instead.

"Thank you, thank you." He quieted the audience down with his words, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm feelin' like a scat cat tonight, so I hope you'll enjoy this little number with me."

He signaled to the band which number he was going to play, and in a low chord started the song about in a jazzy beat as he scatted in a gruff voice.

"Shooby doo bop bop ska dooby doo, shooby doo bop bop my little baby. Shooby doo bop bop ska dooby dooby, shooby do bop bop, let me tell you about it."

The audience attempted to dance, but most just stood and swayed and shimmed to the beat, and a few whispers could be heard, "His sister definitely got the vocals of the family," "His voice is very... unique," "He's a very talented guitarist," "He seems like an acquired taste." But after another song the audience grew accustomed to his unique style and those on the dance floor started to swing dance to the beat.

His performance came to an end and the audience once again snapped their fingers in appreciation, and a rose was thrown on stage for him. He bent down to pick it up, and tucked it into his white suit lapel pocket. He gave a word of thanks as Juvia came back out to introduce the next musician and Gajeel exited stage right. He stood and waited for Juvia to meet him.

"The audience is really warming up to you Gajeel-kun! Juvia is very proud." She embraced her adoptive brother in a warm hug and pecked his cheek.

"Thanks." Gajeel all but grunted out, "Listen, the old man sent me a text earlier, he's got a new gig for me and asked me to meet him at the office. Have Grey drive you home."

Juvia nodded in agreement and wished her brother luck with the potential job.

On the drive to Makarov's office Gajeel wondered what kind of gig the old man had in mind. Gajeel worked as a professional body guard at the Seven Dragons Protection Agency run by old man Makarov. The last gig he had, he was set up to protect some prissy blonde heiress, but the girl drove him up a wall so he had his co-worker Natsu take over the job. Last he heard, they ended up dating, but the Bunny girl still paid Natsu for protection on her outings. What a job. Getting paid to hang out with your girlfriend.

He walked into the "office building," which was actually a office room on the inside of a popular bar known as Fairy Tail. It had a reputation, that was to say the least. Walking up to the bar, the platinum blonde barmaid greeted him with a bright smile. "Hey Demon," she glared at him for the nickname, "Sorry, Mira. Can you let the old man know I'm here? I'll take my usual when you're done."

She picked up the phone on the bar behind her and let the boss know, and then she served Gajeel a whiskey on the rocks in a special made iron cup he had left at the bar to serve him, and only him, with. He grunted his thanks and turned to lean against the bar and observe the happenings in the bar. Natsu was at the pool table with the Bunny Girl, attempted to teach her how to shoot. This amused Gajeel, knowing that she was actually quite good at pool and had hustled him out of a whole day's pay to prove that she wasn't just a pretty face. A shake of bright blue moved his focus from the couple to a kid standing near by.

"Good job Lu-chan!" the kid shouted, holding a pool cue in her hand, she moved to the other side of the table, and Gajeel noted that she was not, in fact a kid, but was a fully mature woman, of very short stature. He recognized her once he saw her face, he had seen her in photos at the Bunny Girl's house and knew that it was actually her best friend, though he didn't know her name or anything about her other than she was a deejay or something and traveled a lot for work.

He glanced to the other side of the bar to see Laxus walk out of Makarov's office and walk towards him. Laxus was Makarov's grandson, the bastard had a few ups and downs the past few years, and Gajeel wouldn't ever admit it, but he was glad that the Thunder Bolt had straightened his shit out and returned to the family business. "The old man is ready for ya," a smirk on Laxus's face made Gajeel quirk a pierced brow up, wondering what the hell shenanigans are going around that even Laxus would crack a smile. He guessed he would find out soon enough.

He walked across the bar, passing Natsu and his company along the way, the Bunny Girl glanced up at him and then over to her friend and giggled. Some shit was definitely going on here. He entered the office and shut the door behind him, collapsing into one of the leather chairs across the desk from Makarov and setting his drink to balance on the arm of the chair.

"Don't worry, my dear Yukino! Sting is a very nice young man who is very capable, I believe he will be the perfect match for you. Yes, we will see you tomorrow. Goodbye, now." Hanging up the phone, Makarov turned the man in front of him. "Gajeel, my boy, I've had a request for your services."

Gajeel almost spit his drink out, "A request? Who the hell made a request for... me?"

Makarov chuckled at his reaction. "Well, it seems that despite your job with Miss Lucy Heartfilia not working out, she put in a good word for you to a close friend of hers." The realization dawned on him why Lucy was in a fit of giggles when he walked past, and what Laxus had found so amusing. "The job requires being a full time body guard, includes a suite near her penthouse, a company vehicle, and world travel... on top of that... it pays one hundred thousand a year."

That time his drink most definitely came out his nose. Usually, he made 50-75k a year, but when benefits such as travel, housing, or car were involved it was on the lower end of the pay scale. To receive all three top benefits from a client, and make 25k more a year than his best jobs... this was unheard of.

"Alright, very funny." Gajeel stood and grabbed a tissue to wipe his face with, "I'll be taking my leave now, since this is obviously a prank." Gajeel made his way to the door and had his hand on the knob when Makarov interrupted his exit.

"Gajeel, I thought to myself the same exact thing. But the client is here, and she's demanding that you, and only you, provide body guard services. She's out with Lucy and Natsu if you would like to speak with her. Apparently, she has even more money than Lucy. Her parents died, leaving her with their entire estate, business, and bank accounts, and she invested it by starting her own record label and becoming a world famous disco-jocky."

"It's disc-jocky... and it's more commonly know as a d.j." Gajeel snorted at his boss.

"Whatever it is... this is a once in a life time opportunity Gajeel... one that could pay off your debt in less than a year easily." He spoke in a serious tone. "Not to mention... other opportunities that would await you." The older man's bushy eyebrows that were far too large for his face rose high, as he insinuated that something more could come of this job that Gajeel did not expect.

His lips formed a thin line, "Fine," he grunted, "But if she is anything like her friend, not even 100k a year is worth that." He walked out of the office and slammed the door behind him.

Gajeel sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his thick black hair. _I could really use this job... I could repay my debt and start out new... traveling the world is a definite bonus..._ He started back towards the corner where his client sat doing shots with Natsu and Lucy. He made eye contact with the pink haired Salamander and he gave him a wide grin and a thumbs up. Natsu usually had a good intuition about clients... not that Gajeel would ever admit that to anyone.

"Um, I don't usually drink Lu-chan..." he overheard the tiny bluenett tell the Bunny Girl.

"Oh, Levy, you'll be fine! It's just one jell-o shot. I even got your favorite flaaaavooorrr! Raspberry!" The effects of the alcohol were already hitting Lucy as she slurred her words slightly and acted much more carefree than he knew the prissy blonde to be.

"Okay, I'll give it a... shot. Pun totally intended." Lucy and the blue haired girl giggled as she tipped the shot glass back into her mouth and Gajeel came up behind her, shadow looming over as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the girl. She looked up and him, glass still to her mouth as she hung in the same position for a moment, before she swallowed the contents of her drink and sat back up. She stood and turned, cheeks flushed pink and moved a stray lock from her face to behind her ear with her tiny, delicate fingers.. Gajeel noticed.

She was much smaller up close... she was also much prettier. Her blue hair extended to her roots, showing no sign that it was a dye job, supported by the fact that not only her eyebrows but her eyelashes were in fact, blue as well. Her skin was creamy and smooth, though her cheeks were a light shade of pink from the flush of the alcohol. Her lips were the most perfect heart shape he had ever seen, pump in all the right places. They were coated with a interesting lipstick, that was pink in the middle and extended to yellow at the edges, reminding him of a sunset. Her eyes were dawned with a simple thick eyeliner, "cat eyes" (as he had learned from Lucy) and they were the most beautiful thing of all. They were large, round eyes. The color of honey, a shade he had never seen before, and they have speckles of brown and he soon found himself feeling lost in their pools... before Natsu interrupted.

"Are you guys just gonna stare into each others eyes, lovingly, all day, or are we gonna talk business?" Natsu and Lucy both laughed as they both jumped slightly and turned red at being caught in such a moment.

"I, uh, oh shit I'm so sorry," the one they called Levy laughed awkwardly. "I'm Levy McGarden, Lucy has told me a lot about you... she thinks you'll be a good body guard on my world tour... Oh, I'm a D.J., by the way.. D.J. Solid Script... I play music at clubs and festivals and the like all over the world. I've, uh," she kept stuttering her words, and Gajeel didn't know if was because the alcohol had entered her system or if she was just always this adorably awkward. "I've run into a lot of trouble lately, with party goers who seem to think because I'm a D.J. I must like drugs, I've had quiet a few people try to slip me drugs or who just don't take 'no' for an answer."

Gajeel scowled at this information, trying to drug her and take advantage of her, quiet obviously. A sudden anger built in his stomach, and for some reason he felt oddly protective over the small girl in front of him. He cleared his throat, turned to the bar to signal to Mira for another drink. "I guess," he cleared his throat and nodded to Mira when she handed him a drink, "we should probably go talk the details over with the old man."

Levy nodded her head and hummed in agreement, she took the lead towards the office, but Gajeel could see her reflection in the glass of the office door and she was blushing deeply. Levy knocked on the glass and Makarov immediately summoned them in.

The details were gone over and it was decided that Gajeel had three days to pack his things and move into Levy's penthouse downtown. He would have a few days to get settled before Levy had a show at a few local clubs on the weekend, before her tour branched out and they would be required to travel to shows. In a month they would be going overseas to start her world tour, and they would be gone for months before returning aboard and taking a short break, and then continuing with the national tour. They would basically be on the road for an entire year, which was no problem for Gajeel. He grew up in foster homes, and was used to being bounced from home to home... except one thing.

"This is all great and good, except for one thing, Shrimp." He took a gulp of his drink, though the ice had melted and watered down his whiskey.

Her eyes shot open wide, and with a baffled and angry look, she exclaimed, "Shrimp?! I'm offering you world travel, a company car, a penthouse suite, and a 6 figure income, and you have the audacity to refer to me as SHRIMP?!" Her voice reached a new octave on the last word and he couldn't help but grin and the adorable way her cheeks and the tips of her ears turned red when she became angry, but when she puffed her cheeks out in frustration he almost completely lost it.

With a cocky grin he decided to pester her further, "Oh, I deeply apologize, you're completely right. You're definitely more of a 'Shorty.'"

Throwing her hands up in exasperation and looking between Makarov and Gajeel as if to say "is this guy serious?" But Makarov simply chuckled.

"Don't worry my dear, if he gives you a nickname, it means he approves of you." Again, Levy's cheeks were tinted a rosy pink.

"Oi! Can it Old Man!" Gajeel threatened, only proving Makarov's point, as he chuckled. "Any way, back to the point. There's only one problem, _shorty_ ," Gajeel enunciated the nickname, to see Levy cross her arms and look away from him. "I've got a cat. And anywhere Lily can't go, I won't go either."

Her ears perked up at this information, "You have a cat? I love cats. I've wanted to get one ever since I met Natsu's cat, Happy!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Well my cat is a million times cooler than Natsu's laboratory experiment failure," referring to the blue color of fur the cat had retained after being rescued from a facility that experimented with hair dye on animals.

Makarov pulled out some papers for Levy and Gajeel to both sign, and Levy pulled out a laptop edited her own contract so that Gajeel was allowed to bring Lily on all travels. And that's when Makarov decided to inquire about Levy's music.

"So Levy, dear, do you have a sample of your disco-jocky music for me?" Levy giggled at Makarov's mispronunciation.

"Sure! I've got a new single I haven't released yet here on my computer, and I also have a mix c.d you can have!" As Levy pressed play on her new song, Gajeel rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh great, you're one of those techno ravers." Gajeel quietly hoped that he could get away with wearing earbuds during her performances, so he could listen to his own style of music.

"Well, I'm not a _raver_ , I just play electronic music that I've mixed together in my own style at raves. I don't participate in the... recreational activities that many take part in." They both happened to notice that Makarov was quiet enjoying Levy's mix and was doing a little dance behind his desk.

"Yeah, that's exactly what this is, _electronic_ music, as in, _not real music._ " Gajeel declared his opinion on the matter.

Levy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and I'm guessing your taste in music is limited to heavy metal and screamo," she deadpanned.

"Wrong." Gajeel smirked. "I happen to be a _real_ musician, and I play jazz."

"Yes, Gajeel and his sister are well known in the underground jazz world here in town... though Gajeel's singing voice is considered an... acquired taste." Gajeel shot old man Makarov a dirty look. "Well my children, I must say, I'm very glad this worked out. But if you don't mind, an old man like myself needs to get some rest. I expect you both to stop by for a visit before you leave for your big trip!" They both nodded in agreement, Levy gave Makarov a copy of her c.d and hugged the old man, whispering something in his ear that he chuckled at.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days passed quickly, as Gajeel packed his few belongings. Juvia came to assist, knowing that his packing skills were often nothing more than throwing everything he owned into a garbage bag, just like they were forced to as children in foster care. She helped him pre-sort the items he would be needing on his year-long trip, and the things that would stay in Levy's penthouse for storage. It took him hours of debate to narrow down which instruments and amplifiers he wanted to bring with him, and which would go into storage for a year.

All of his belongings fit into one small rental truck, and the only reason it was crowded in the truck was because Gajeel had insisted on bubble wrapping the cases to his instruments, his amplifiers, and his instrument stands. Juvia drove the rental to the address Levy provided, while Gajeel drove his motorcycle ahead, speeding off ahead to burn away some stress before arriving at his new home for the next few weeks.

He arrived at the downtown building he recognized it as one he had dropped Lucy off at on multiple occasions. It was a building known to house some of the richest in town, and that showed from the stone architecture outside, as well as the marble interior and statues. All of the furniture perfectly matching, from the chairs, to the drapes. He had walked Lucy into the building every time, so the man at the front desk recognized him immediately. Perking up from his slump while reading, he noticed that Lucy was not with the tall, muscular man.

"I'm not working with her any more, I'm actually here because.." his explanation got cut off by the elevator dinging and Levy walking out.

"Hey Gajeel!" her voice echoed through the marble lobby. Both men turned their heads to see Levy skipping out of the elevator. Gajeel's breath was caught in his throat, as he couldn't imagine the girl being any more beautiful than she already was, but she was more bright and beautiful than the sun it's self today. Her blue hair was pulled back into two messy buns that sat behind her ears, and stray locks fell on either side of her face, framing it perfectly. Her lips were clean of the ombre lipstick from the night prior, though her eyes were once again dawned in a perfect cat wing. She wore a bright yellow dress with no straps, but was supported around her neck with a thick white ribbon and tied to the front with a bow. It had wide open sleeves, but they were held to her upper arm with ribbon rather than being attached to the dress. On her tiny feet there were tiny red sandals that reminded him of a pair Juvia had when they were kids.

The man at the desk cleared his throat, as Levy was in the process of skipping the length of space between the elevator and desk. "Oh, I see..." the man said coyly. "You've got a date with the lovely lady Levy."

"What?!" Gajeel choked out, "What, no, I uh... was hired... as her body guard. To go on the world tour with her and shit."

"Mmmmhmmmm." The man raised an eyebrow at Gajeel. "Not buying it." He turned and went to retrieve something from the back room, as Levy reached Gajeel her brow quirked up in question.

"Where are all your things, Gajeel?" Having her presence near and her attention on him seemed to warm his skin and bring a feeling in his stomach he had never felt before.

Gajeel stuttered for a moment before answering, internally face palming himself repeatedly for his slip up. "My sister," he finally choked out, "she's driving the rental truck. I drove my bike here, you said there was a locked garage for me to use?"

"Oh, you have a bike? Can I see?" Levy bounced a bit in the place she stood. The man at the desk returned from the backroom, struggling to carry a enormous vase dozens, if not a hundred, of long steamed red roses.

"Miss Levy, these arrived for you today..." he gasped after setting the heavy bouquet down on the counter.

Gajeel expected Levy to be delighted that someone had sent her such a beautiful and surely expensive gift of flowers, but instead she scowled deeply. She sighed before responding "Just... call the florist next door... she'll come pick them up and rid me of their presence." The man nodded his head and went to go make the phone call as Gajeel turned to Levy with a confused face.

"What was that about?" He questioned, but Levy started out the front lobby to his bike before beginning to answer his question.

"One of the reasons you've been hired... a stalker. Some guy who tries to follow all my local shows, leaving gifts here at my house, taking pictures of me in public..." She signed deeply and tried to wipe away a tear without Gajeel noticing. Before Gajeel could think of what to say to comfort her, they reached his bike outside the penthouse and Levy immediately perked up. "Nice wheels," she commented, reaching for the handle and throwing a leg over to sit down on top it.

"Hey, watch it Shorty! I don't need some punk who doesn't know a thing about bikes scratchin' up my baby," Gajeel scolded Levy for touching bike. She simply raised an eyebrow up at Gajeel, turned the key into on position, kicking the street bike into gear and starting it with ease.

"Sounds like you need some work done. Hop on, I'll show you where to park it... in the garage I have... specifically for bikes... there might be room if we squeeze her in." Levy deadpanned, as Gajeel stood with his jaw hanging open slightly and a dumbfounded look replaced his normally cocky grin.

Doing as he was told, he slid on behind Levy. He tried to hang onto the small space of seat between he and Levy, but Levy grabbed his hands and pulled them around her waist to hold her hips. Gajeel was thankful that he didn't have review mirrors on his bike, or Levy would absolutely be able to see the bright red blush on his cheeks with his lack of helmet on. He flexed his fingers over her hip bones and noticed how despite Levy's petite stature, her hips were quite wide. Not that he minded at all, in fact he found himself focused solely on how sturdy but soft her hips were as he gripped onto them.

"Um... Gajeel?" A soft voice interrupting his thoughts, "you can let go now..."

Gajeels eyes flew open wide and he stumbled to climb off the bike until he found himself completely red in the face and awkwardly standing next to Levy on his bike. "I, uh, so-sorry..." He sputtered quietly. Levy looked at him with wide eyes, before she started to laugh heartily in a contagious manner. Gajeel couldn't help but laugh his embarrassment off.

"You know, Gajeel," Levy started, bringing their laugher to a standstill, wiping a tear from her eye from laughing so hard, "I think this is gonna be a good thing." She smiled warmly at Gajeel, with a small blush on her own cheeks. Before he could reply, Gajeel's cellphone started ringing a jazzy beat. He retrieved it to find that Juvia was outside the building waiting to help carry boxes up to the penthouse suite.

"You're gonna have to bring me back up here and let me test drive some of these bikes." Gajeel told her as they walked back down to lobby.

"I dunno, I don't really need 'some punk who doesn't know a thing about bikes, scratchin' up my babies.'" Levy quipped at Gajeel for thinking she didn't know anything about bikes before getting to know her.

As they reached the lobby, Juvia stood with a few of Gajeel's instruments at her feet. Juvia and Levy hit it off immediately, starting to chat and gossip about how much teasing they got as children being naturally blue haired, the books they've recently read. As they reached the apartment, Gajeel let Lily out of his carrier and he ran to sniff about as Levy led them room to room in their new shared dwelling.

"You'll have your own room with a view of the city and walk in closet, bathroom with jacuzzi tub and a shower, living room with all the works, everything is fully furnished, but if for whatever reason you want to bring your own furniture you can put this stuff in storage if needed. The only thing that is shared is the kitchen... but you won't have to worry about that. Besides making tea or coffee I really don't use the kitchen. I usually just order out or eat while I'm out and about." Levy explained as she walked into the kitchen and start preparing them all cups of tea. "The burn marks above the stove give me away anyway, I'm an absolutely terrible cook."

Juvia perked up after sipping her tea, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make Gajeel look good. "Gajeel-kun is a wonderful cook, Levy-chan! He has even taken culinary classes!" Levy snorted in disbelief.

"I'd love to see big, bad, body guard over here in an apron, whipping up culinary meal. That would be a sight to see," Levy giggled into her tea cup.

"Oi! I'll have you know I'm a down right bad ass cook."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Levy shot back at him.

"Alright, anything you want, right here and now." Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest and stood tall over Levy, staring down his nose at her.

"I told you, I don't cook, the kitchen is bare besides cookies and teas. We'd have to go grocery shopping, and you need to unpack."

"You guys go!" Juvia spoke up, "If it is alright with Levy-chan, Gray-sama can come help Juvia unpack the moving truck!"

"Gray?" Levy questioned, "Gray Fullbuster?"

Juvia nodded her head and beamed, "Juvia's fiance!"

"I know Gray! We went to high school together, played band. Does he still play the drums?" Levy inquired information on her old school mate.

"Yes, he plays a number of instruments now. He plays in the band at the club where Gajeel and Juvia perform at on jazz night. You should come see our goodbye performance for Gajeel on Friday before he goes away with you. Gray, Natsu, Lucy, and some of our other friends will be there!" Juvia bounced in excitement at the thought of Levy attending one of Gajeel's performances, but Gajeel didn't share the same enthusiasm. A light blush crossed his face.

"Oi, Rain Woman, quit pressuring the girl, she doesn't need to come out and.." but Levy interrupted.

"I would love to! Lucy is my best friend, but I haven't seen Gray in years. I can't believe he and Natsu still hang out, they were constantly fighting when we were in school."

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Flame Brain and Ice Princess still fight like cats and dogs." Juvia and Levy giggled.

"Well then, Gajeel and I can run to the grocery store and he can test drive Mavis on the way." Levy chirped. "Two birds with one stone."

Gajeel and Juvia both looked at Levy with confusion. "Mavis?"


	3. Chapter 3

Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 3:

Mavis was Levy's bike. Levy's favorite bike. As she and Gajeel walked back into the garage storing only Levy's collection of motorcycles, she approached a bike hidden under a yellow tarp with "MAVIS" in cursive sparkling white letters written on it. Ripping the tarp off, she revealed the white Ducati 1098S that lay underneath. Even more awestruck than when Levy surprised him by driving his own bike, Gajeel's jaw about hit the floor when he saw his dream bike.

"Ho...ly shit." Gajeel enunciated each syllable, as Levy circled her bike and ran a finger over the sparkling white diamond paint job. Obviously a custom paint job, the paint glittered like fairy dust in the light. Each and every detail, from the handle bars to the kick stand was painted gold. Even the seat was gold. "Mavis" was once again written on the tail end of the bike.

"She was my first." Levy stated, "My parents bought her for my 17th birthday, but I wasn't allowed to legally drive her on the road until I was 18 and had my motorcycle license. My dad used to take me to the race track... he taught me how to ride before... before they passed." A sad smile remained on her face, she turned and flipped on a nearby light switch, and in the corner in the back of the room a display light illuminated a bike whose maker Gajeel couldn't place. It was a beautiful bike, and the gleaming paint job was the exact same shade as Levy's hair.

"That was my dad's bike... he designed and built it entirely himself. I've never driven it, haven't been on it since before my dad passed. He named it 'Levy' after me, but we referred to it as 'The Lev-ster.' It could beat my bike in speed tenfold. But, she's not my favorite because she's the fastest bike I have. She's my favorite because she was my first. And she's light as a fairy, easy to handle."

The feeling in Gajeel's gut intensified as he heard Levy speak about her bike, and her memories of her parents. His arms twitched slightly, as if they were magnets, struggling against him to wrap his arms around her in comfort. But he couldn't, he had only just met her. He was supposed to protect her, but not get attached to her.

"I'm sorry." Gajeel suddenly blurted out, making Levy jump slightly. "About your parents, I mean... I lost mine too... Juvia isn't my real sister... we were adopted by Old Man Makarov. We were bounced around a lot as kids... That's a lot of information," he laughed awkwardly, "maybe we should head to the store before Juvia finishes unloading and ends up decorating my entire space."

Levy giggled and nodded, "Wanna take her for a spin?"

Gajeel couldn't hide his smile. He wasn't just excited that he was going to be climbing on to a bike he had only dreamed about, and driving it... but about the girl who was going to be sitting snugly behind him, with her arms wrapped about his waist.

Levy walked over to a wardrobe and pulled out a riding jumpsuit and helmet, pulling it on over her dress and securing her helmet in place. Gajeel was already donned in a leather jacket, thick jeans, and riding books, but he pulled his helmet out from within his bike seat. Gajeel slid onto Mavis and purposely left room between him and the front of the seat, so Levy would have to sit flush against him to get on. She eyed what he was doing, and she mustered up her confidence and slid on right behind him, curling her own body against his bike side and laying her hands on the tops of his thighs.

Gajeel wasn't expecting Levy to be so bold, and somehow a fire within him lit... and he could feel his cold iron heart beginning to warm inside his chest. He started up the bike, and took off out of the garage.

When the reached the grocery store, Levy slipped out of her leather jumpsuit, complaining that it was too hot to wear through the store. She skipped about at his side, trying to disguise her struggle to keep up with his longer strides as a skip. "So what are you gonna make me?"

"What do you feel like eating, Shorty?" Gajeel questioned as he grabbed a shopping cart and they clanked when they pulled apart.

"You," Levy said in a whisper, barely audible over the sound of the carts moving about.

Gajeel turned around faster than the speed the drove on Mavis to get here, "Huh?!"

"I said 'what are you good at making?'" A blush crept over Levy's cheeks, she didn't think she said that out loud.

"How about chicken Alfredo?" Gajeel suggested the first dish that could easily be made with out a lot of prep time that came to his mind.

"Perfect! Italian sounds amazing right now. I'm not really a wine person, but I know of a hard cider that goes great with Italian." Levy grabbed a few cookies off the shelves they walked by as she followed Gajeel around the store as he gathered ingredients.

"Oi, grab some lemon cookies while you're developing diabetes over there." Gajeel barked at her. Levy came back with another armful of cookies, Gajeel's lemon cookies included. "Alright, I've got the fettuccine, garlic, cilantro, cauliflower, heavy whipping cream, cream cheese, chicken... I assume you at least have salt and pepper at your place?"

Levy nodded in response and rolled her eyes. It's not like she _only_ had cookies... she had the essential condiments and seasoning she needed to top her take outs. On their way to the check out they stopped in the beer aisle so Levy could grab her favorite pineapple-apple hard cider, when Gajeel noticed an arm extended around the corner, holding a camera phone aimed at Levy. The person on the other side of the aisle lowered themselves towards the floor and aimed up Levy's dress.

"Oi!" Gajeel shouted and pushed the cart across the aisle as he bolted towards the arm, Levy turned around with a gasp. The cart Gajeel pushed out of the way had knocked into a display shelf and everything toppled inside. The man who had been video taping Levy had sensed all the commotion Gajeel had made and made a run for it before Gajeel reached the end of the aisle, but he still chased after the man. Dressed in dark clothing, he had a hood drawn up over his head. Chains on his black baggy pants and heavy boots. Gajeel was faster than the man, but he took the time to knock over anything within reach to slow Gajeel down. He was long gone by the time Gajeel reached the sliding doors and the security guard met him.

Gajeel took a moment to explain what happened, and a cashier left her vacant stand to start cleaning up the messes the stalker left behind. Levy stood in shock, pulling her dress close to her legs and tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Gajeel ran to check on her after speaking with the security guards, and found her standing still in the aisle, case of beer dropped and broken glass at her feet. "Levy!" Shouted Gajeel, "Levy, are you alright?" He grabbed her arms and shook her gently, until her vacant eyes found him and focused.

"Gajeel?" Levy choked out his name before the sobs wracked her body, she leaned into his arms and her knees gave way. Gajeel pulled her away from the broken bottles and sat on the floor with her in his lap as she shook with heavy sobs. He didn't know what to do, what was an appropriate professional step to take, so he just did what felt right. He wrapped his arms around her, laid his chin over the top of her head and rubbed her back, hushing her gently.

"It's okay Lev, I got you. You're safe, I chased him away. I've got ya." Gajeel said in his softest voice, realizing he didn't even recognize the sound of his own voice speaking so softly.

"It.. it was him. It was the same guy... Midnight."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Gajeel kept his arms wrapped protectively around Levy as she gave a statement to the police. He could lie, and say that it was for Levy's sake, but in fact it was for his own. He had felt like complete shit that something had happened to her, on his watch. Even if he wasn't officially on the clock yet, he felt his duty was to protect Levy, and he had failed for letting the bastard slip out of his grip. But Levy hadn't made any motion to push him away, in fact she made move to tighten his arms around her when she had to explain the other incidents that had happened before.

"Miss... I just don't understand why you hadn't contacted the police until now. We could have helped." The officer taking her statement was gentle, but firm with her.

"I..." Levy began to say, before another round of sobs took over.

"Oi! Back off man. Obviously she is scared, she shouldn't have to deal with shit in the first place. What help are you going to provide? We don't know his real name, we don't know anything about him, besides that he is some gothic pervert who gets his kicks preying on women." Gajeel's temper was peaking. He had worked so hard to have a handle on his anger issue, but he was loosing the battle this time. Levy crying in his arms made his stomach turn, and his fingers twitch with the desire to beat something to a pulp. His blood felt like it was boiling inside his veins, and his heart pounded fiercely in his chest.

The officer nodded in response and promised that this accident would be kept on record and would resume as an active case. They would find who the man was and punish him accordingly. Levy turned in Gajeel's arms, laying her face on his chest and lifted her arm to wrap around his neck... and everything slowed. Gajeel felt his anger subside, his blood cooled and his heart rate slowed to a steady beat. He leaned down and rested his cheek on her head, inhaling her lavender fragrance. His arms curled around her as he held her tightly to his chest, one hand brushing her hair out of her face.

"I... I'm sorry, Gajeel." Levy whispered into his chest.

"Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?" Gajeel questioned, throughly confused. Any person would react the same to having their privacy violated in public as she did.

Levy gently pushed away from his chest and leaned away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We barely even know each other, and here I am, clinging to you for comfort. I'm sure this wasn't in the job description."

A blush graced Gajeel's cheeks and turned his ears a bright red. "I really didn't mind... This wasn't about the job, I'm not even on the clock yet. I just... wanted to protect you." He couldn't even look at her once the words left his mouth. He was ashamed that he didn't catch the bastard, that he was out there, waiting for another opportunity to get to her. His chest tightened, he had never felt this way before. He was both scared, and angry, as well as nervous. Anxious? Was that what this feeling was?

Levy's arms slipped around his waist again, and her face was pressed against his heart once more. "You did more than just protect me, Gajeel... I don't know why... I feel so comfortable and safe around you. Thank you for being here for me... You didn't have to comfort me like this... but you did." Levy nuzzled into his chest closer, and Gajeel felt like his heart was soaring.

"I wanted to." Did he really just say that?

Levy giggled gently. "C'mon Gajeel... I think we're going to need a few beers and this delicious meal you're supposed to make me... maybe some ice cream too."

Gajeel rolled his eyes, this girl really has a sweet tooth.

When they got back to the penthouse, they found that all Gajeel's things had been moved in and placed where Juvia thought they should go, but no Juvia could be found. Gajeel carried the groceries into the kitchen and set them on the counter, where he found a note from Juvia.

"Juvia unpacked all your things, now Gray-sama is taking Juvia on a date. See you Friday for the performance! -J"

"I guess Juvia took off with Ice Princess for dinner, we're on our own." Gajeel told Levy as she came in with her half dozen boxes of cookies. She sighed in relief.

"I'm a little glad... I really like Juvia, but after the incident at the grocery store... I just want to eat dinner, have a beer, and pig out on ice cream." Levy said, smiling sadly as she put groceries away on the low shelves. Gajeel cracked open one of Levy's hard pineapple-apple ciders, surprised that he actually enjoyed the taste. It wasn't some fruity drink like he thought it would be, and the alcohol content was higher than most beers.

Opening cabinet after cabinet, Gajeel found that all Levy's pots and pans were shoved into one small cabinet in the corner. Most of her cabinets were empty, and the higher shelves were completely bare. Her supply of coffee items and large collection of teas were kept above the coffee pot, near the stove where a kettle sat. There were burn marks on the wall and the cabinets near the stove, though they weren't severely damaged, a simple coat of paint could fix the issue. Gajeel found that Juvia had arranged his pots and pans in the proper order, using the sewn covers to protect the metal from rubbing up against each other. He was glad for a bit of normalcy in the new home.

Starting to cook the chicken on a cast iron pan, Levy offered Gajeel her help. He looked at her, and obviously looked towards the burn marks on the wall and Levy glared at him. "Can you boil the noodles without burning the house down?"

"Don't sass me, boy." Levy glowered at him as she bent over to grab a pot to boil the noodles in. Gajeel averted his eyes from her exposed thighs quickly. _Don't be a pervert, too, stupid._ Gajeel flipped the chicken and started humming one of his favorite jazz tunes as he cooked. Opening the food pantry door, he found his apron Juvia had made him hanging inside. He emerged from the room with the garlic, scatting under his breath, wearing his "Kiss the cook" apron and turned the burner with the chicken off.

Levy eyed him as she finished pouring the noodles into the pot as he stood at the cutting board, dicing the garlic and singing "shoe be do bop," under his breath. She stood leaning on fridge as she watched him work, and she felt so oddly safe and warm with this new man that she hardly knew in her home. He turned from the cutting board and walked towards her at the fridge, opening the double door she wasn't leaning on, and grabbing the heavy whipping cream and cream cheese. Her eyes kept following him as he moved about.

"See something you like?" He smirked at her as he closed the fridge door.

Levy felt something feral come over her, as she took a step towards Gajeel, grabbed the strap of his apron and brought his face down to her level. Before she could have a moment to second guess her actions, she pressed a wet, gentle kiss on his lips. Gajeel dropped the ingredients he held in his hands and stood, half bent over and frozen in place as Levy pulled back from his lips.

"'Kiss the cook,'" Levy said coyly, as she poked a finger into his chest where the decal sat on his apron.

Suddenly, Gajeel snapped out of his daze, and a dangerous grin crossed his face. He grabbed Levy by the backs of her legs and lifted her up, backing her up until she was pressed against the refrigerator door. She gasped as his sudden actions, but wrapped her thighs around Gajeel's waist and held onto around his neck. She was eye to eye with him, and for the first time she noticed how his eyes mirrored embers, burning with a passion she had yet to discover. Levy's eyes trailed from his, to his lips, the tip of his tongue slid across the opening of his mouth and his chest heaved with his heavy breath, and she realized... he was waiting for her permission.

Her hooded eyes trailed back up to his, and she smirked sweetly at him before leaning in and pressing her lips to his again. Her fingers tangled in his wild mane, as she pulled his face closer to hers. His hands squeezed her thighs, and he stepped closer to body until there was no space between them. Gajeel's tongue slipped from between his lips and brushed against hers, begging for her to allow him to enter.

Levy allowed her lips to part for him, and she gasped slightly when Gajeel's tongue entered her mouth. He realized that he might be getting over excited, and slowed his motions. He brushed his tongue gently over hers, and she returned the motion. Levy relaxed against him more, and they both felt as though they could smell the sparks between them that had ignited... Or maybe that was the fettuccine noodles overboiling in the pot that Levy hadn't stirred before getting distracted by her body guard.

The smoke alarm started blaring and they turned to see a the water boiling over and spilling everywhere, Levy about jumped out of Gajeel's arms to find a towel to fan the smoke alarm. Gajeel proceed to lift the pot from the hot burner and set it on a cool one. When all the commotion was over, Levy and Gajeel made eye contact and smiled coyly before breaking into laughter.

Eventually, the laughter died down and Gajeel finished dinner. Levy set the table and prepared a second round of beers, she also put some classic rock on the radio. As they sat down to enjoy their meal together, they both kept blushing any time they made eye contact, though that didn't stop Levy from rubbing her naked foot across Gajeel's.

"Alright," she started, "I admit it, your cooking is really quite good, despite my attempts at ruining the whole meal." Levy giggled.

Gajeel swallowed a gulp of beer, "Yeah, well, I don't mind cooking most of the time. I can go to the grocery store again tomorrow, pick up some food for the next few days, until we leave."

Levy smirked, "How are your pancake making skills?"

Levy cleared the table and quickly did the dishes while Gajeel decided to change out of his riding clothes and shower. After the dishes were done, Levy went and changed into pajama shorts and a tank top before getting a bowl of ice cream and a few cookies ready for them to share. She thought it might be a good way to break the ice about what happened between them. She set their dessert on the living room table and started a playlist. Knowing Gajeel didn't like her techno remixes, she shuffled through her list of inspirational songs when she heard him enter the room.

"I thought you might like some of those lemon cookies we bought, and I'm going to attempt to expand your taste in-" Levy turned to find Gajeel shirtless, wearing only a pair of low riding black sweat pants and his wild mane of hair pulled into a messy bun at the base of his neck. She stood with her mouth open and stuttered the words, "music..."

He carried a guitar case with him, "Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing." He smirked as he flopped down on the couch, and pulled his case into his lap. Opening it and pulling out a matte black guitar and small amplifier, he set his things up before noticing that Levy was still on the other side of the room, gawking at him.

It's not like she could help herself. She knew he was in good shape, his job was to physically protect people after all. She has experienced the firmness of his pectorals first hand earlier that day. He had also picked her up as though she were lighter than a feather. But the site before her had her quivering where she stood. Not only was his chest insanely defined, his abdomen held 8 ripples leading south, before ending in a v shape that plunged into his sweat pants. A trace amount of hair lay below his belly button and followed the v shape into his pants. Not only that, but his piercings extended down his torso. His nipples were pierced and so were his hip bones. Levy couldn't help but wonder what else was dawned with a metal stud that she couldn't see.

It wasn't until he called her name and broke her from her day dream did she realize she was staring.

"Are you going to keep making it hot in here, or are you going to eat your ice cream before it melts?" Gajeel chuckled with a devious smirk on his face. He thought their actions from before dinner might continue if he teased her a bit, but he didn't quite expect her to be so outright interested in his body.

Levy squeaked like a mouse and hurried over to sit on the couch next to him, grabbing her bowl of ice cream and taking a nibble. Gajeel lay back on the couch comfortably, "I'm surprised you have Oasis on your playlist," he commented as he strummed along to Wonderwall, an easy song that he had played countless times before.

"I don't know why you would be surprised... I may preform electronic music, but my taste in music is much more expansive than you may believe." Levy argued Gajeel's impression on her musical tastes.

"Oh yeah? How expansive would you say it is?" Gajeel challenged her, something told him that it would be fun to get her riled up. But his eyebrows shot up in surprise when she stood and stepped over his legs on the coffee table.

"Follow me, I'll show you." Levy teased. Gajeel could swear she was putting an extra swagger in her step, as he watched her hips sway back and forth as she walked away. She glanced over her shoulder back at him, "Are you coming?" Levy winked at him as continued down the hall towards her end of the penthouse. Gajeel stumbled as he got up to chase after her. Lily decided to make an appearance just in time to get tangled under Gajeel's feet so he could make a fool of himself.

Levy stopped at a doorway, the door was adorned with painted musical notes, he recognized the series notes but couldn't place them. He tried to imagine it in his head, but was interrupted when Levy bent over in front of him to pick up Lily. She stood again and opened the door, flicking the lights on and stepping in the door, Gajeel found himself surrounded by shelves. There were shelves against the wall, shelves creating thin aisles, and each and every one of them was filled to the brim with music. Records, 8-tracks, tapes, cd's. Glancing at the names, he found everything meticulously organized, first by platform, then genre, then alphabetical for artist, then chronological by album year. He pulled a Rolling Stones album out gently, not removing it entirely from it's spot. His eyes were as wide as saucers when he realized that it was signed by the entire band. He gently placed it back, and squatted to glance at the lower shelves. He found that the records there were also signed.

"How many of these are signed?" Gajeel asked as he marveled over the expansive collection. There were artists and bands he had never heard of, along side the infamous groups.

"No, not ALL of them... probably like 90%. The most valuable signed copies are kept in a safe, so I replaced with with unsigned copies instead." Levy said nonchalantly as she scratched Lily's rounded ears.

"How in the hell did you get your hands on these? There are albums from artists who died before you were born," Gajeel continued to question her as he crawled on the floor, reading the names of albums.

"My dad was into motorcycles, but both my parents were musicians and collectors. The older albums were mainly collected by them, besides a few I got my hands on myself. The newer music," she pointed towards a section of shelves holding cd's and new age records, "was collected by yours truly. I've met most of them in person."

Gajeel stood from his spot and approached the shelves, scanning over the stacks he found everything from Adele to Z-Axis band. He was in complete awe, a feeling he rarely felt and even rarer that he ever showed it.

"Traveling the world with you is sounding more and more interesting the more I learn about you..." Gajeel mumbled under his breath, not realizing the words left his mouth until he had already said them and his cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I-I just mean that we have a lot in common... I think we will get along... as long as you don't torture me too much with your electro-fake music." He returned to the many shelves, attempting to browse as he waited for the heat to leave his face.

He found himself browsing on another wall, where many of his favorite artists were before him. Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Sinatra, the list of his favorite jazz artists went on, and even a few he had never heard of. He pulled out a Frank Sinatra record and walked over to the record player in the middle of the room. _This is going to be so corny, but it just feels right._

Levy glanced up to what he was doing as he set the needle carefully on the record, and _Come Fly With Me_ started playing. The air in her lungs seemed to come to a standstill as the song started, and Gajeel reached his hand out to ask her to dance. And for a split second, her dad was standing in front of her asking her to come fly with him, so she reached for Gajeel's hand and let him pull her close. One hand held her lower back gently, and the other held her own as her arm wrapped around his shoulder. Gajeel started by humming along, but after a few lines couldn't help but start singing one of his favorite tunes.

"Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru, in llama land there's a one-man band, and he'll toot his flute for you..." His voice was deep and slightly raspy, and the vibrations echoed through his chest and into hers as she pressed her body closer to his. "Once I get you up there where the air is rarified, we'll just glide, starry-eyed, once I get you up there I'll be holding you so near, you may hear angels cheer 'cause we're together..."

Levy lay her chin on Gajeel's shoulder to hide her face from his, a tear trickled from one eye.

 _My mother always told me that daddy reminded her of her father... and she hoped that one day I would find someone who reminded me of dad... and here Gajeel is... dancing with me to the song that my father and I used to dance to..._

As the ending of the song came, Levy wiped away her tear and smiled to herself in knowing.

"You know what the best way to end a dance with is, don't you?" Levy whispered in his ear.

Gajeel smirked, and steadied his hand on her back, and dipped her low as the song ended.


	5. Chapter 5

The song that Levy sings, and therefore lyrics I borrowed, are from _It ain't Me_ , by Kygo and Selena Gomez.

The song she performs and sings is Oasis - Wonderwall ft. Katy McAllister (Monkey Joker Edit)

WARNING: There is a small mention of drug use in this chapter, but in future chapters this will might intensify. Warnings will be placed, and I will make it a skippable area of the story for anyone who is uncomfortable with the subject.

Fairy tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

The next few days flew by quickly as Levy prepared for her tour to start and they were rarely at home. Getting Gajeel's passport in order, setting up international phones, packing, recording, approving album art, a photoshoot. Luckily, the big things were taken care of by Levy's manager, and she owned her own private jet so she could haul Pantherlily without him being stuffed in an animal crate and tossed around, as well as their bikes.

Gajeel cooked pancakes for breakfast and went grocery shopping while Levy stayed with Lucy, still too much in shock to return to the store. He gathered ingredients for real food and planned meals for the next two days in his head, figuring they would eat dinner at the jazz club on Friday for his "going away party."

While Levy was with him and they were out and about, he kept a close eye on her and rarely let her out of his reach. A part of him wanted to tell her to just wear some god damn pants to prevent anything else from happening, but he didn't want to dictate what she could wear... besides, she looked so adorable yet sexy in her dresses. He thought he saw a dark figure stalking them while they walked from building to building, but it always vanished before he got the chance to get a look. Tonight was Levy's first performance with him as her body guard, and he was 100% ready for the bastard if he tried to make a move.

As the night drew nearer, Levy distanced herself emotionally from Gajeel. Her brow was a constant furrow and her answers short, she didn't joke or make small talk with him like she normally did.

"Hey, Lev?" Gajeel finally decided to speak up about her sudden change in attitude.

"Hmm?" She hummed in response to his inquiry, reinforcing his concern.

"Are... are you mad at me?" His voice was full of concern, he didn't think he had done anything wrong, had he?  
"What? No, no I'm not mad at you, why do you ask?" Levy finally looked him in the eye, attention fully on him for the first time in hours.

"You just haven't been acting like yourself today." Gajeel shrugged, trying to play his worry off.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gajeel... I just have so much on my mind, and I'm nervous about the trip and the performance... usually I just put headphones in and zone out until it's time to go on stage, but I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you." Levy rubbed her temples with her fingers, she looked tired.

"Hey, if that's what you normally do, just do it. I'm gonna go make you a pot of coffee, I suppose you want cookies along with it?" Gajeel teased her and poked her nose with his finger.

Levy smiled and nodded at him in response, grabbing a pair of headphones and shuffling through music on her phone as she laid back on the couch in their house.

By the time Gajeel came back with two cups of coffee and a plate of cookies, chocolate chunk for Levy, and sugar cookies for him, she was spread out on the couch, nodding her head to the music with her eyes closed, and singing along with the song.

"I'll take with me the polaroids and the memories, but you know I'm gonna leave behind the worst of us. Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the mornin'? Who's gonna rock you when the sun won't let you sleep? Who's waking up to drive you home, when you're drunk and all alone? Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the mornin'... it ain't me..."

As he came closer to the couch where she sat and he could hear her voice clearly, he stopped in his tracks. Her voice... it was haunting. There was something particular about her voice that made his heart sting with a familiarity that he couldn't place. Where had he heard a voice like hers before? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and he continued to listen to her as she sang. Her voice was clear and on key, there was no roughness to her voice, like his. Though it wasn't as smooth and deep as Juvia's, it reminded him more of bells... or birds chirping in the early morning, a baby's laughter. A sense of longing built deeply in his chest, making him uncomfortable. He continued to walk towards the couch and set the coffee cups and cookies on the table. When he flopped down next to her, a little harder than he intended, she jumped slightly as she was thrust from her music zone.

She sat up and removed her headphones with a deep sigh, and it was then that Gajeel noticed she had dark bags under her eyes and he got the sense that she wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Haven't been sleeping well, Shorty?" Gajeel questioned as she sipped her coffee. She initially glared at him for the nickname, but it faded after a quick moment and the exhausted look returned to her face.

She leaned forward, placing her elbows into her knees and held the cup close to her face, letting the aroma of the coffee overwhelm her nose. She took a sip before responding quietly. "I don't think I've slept through the night since the incident at the grocery store..." Her face was riddled with shame, as if it had somehow been her fault, or she was embarrassed of the situation. The burn that Gajeel had felt in his stomach the day at the grocery store returned, he felt the anger boiling within him, threatening to spill over. He was focusing so hard on keeping his temper at bay, that he didn't even notice that Levy had set her coffee down. She moved to lean her head against his shoulder and laced her arm though his, and he was shaken from his concentration.

At her touch, the spark of anger within him fizzled. His anger was replaced by concern, and he relaxed into her touch. Leaning back against the couch, he pulled her onto his chest. Her birds nest of blue hair hid her face from view, and Gajeel ran his fingers through the tousled locks, gently untangling it as he did so. After a few minutes, Levy's breathing had slowed considerably, and he knew for sure that she was asleep once he heard a tiny whistle like snore leave her nose. Her performance wasn't for another few hours, he would let her sleep and rest her tired heart.

Finding himself surrounded by bright colors and flashing lights in a dark and overheated club, Gajeel scowled intensely. The crowd was full of young people, some older people scattered around. The majority of the crowd was under 30. Everywhere he looked he saw girls in bright colored bikini tops, wearing tutus and furry boots or ears. Some people had plastic beaded bracelets lining their entire arms, and some wore costumes. The whole place looked like a Halloween party gone terribly wrong, everyone showed up wearing just about the same thing. He tsked in annoyance when he realized the crowd all had another thing in common: their pupils were all at an unnatural magnitude. He knew what that meant, he had often dabbled in the world of club drugs, but he had long since left that behind... though his debt still carried heavy behind him.

As he intently studied the faces in the crowd, looking for a figure he didn't even know was there or not, Gajeel's gaze fell upon a nearby Levy chatting with her manager about the upcoming trip. It was her first time traveling internationally and she was nervous, obsessively checking every detail repeatedly, but her over all mood had improved since her nap with Gajeel earlier that night. She seemed refreshed and cheerful again. He took this moment where she was distracted to admire her from afar.

Her bird's nest had been washed and dried since her nap on his chest, and it was now in loose ringlets around her face. She wore a black lace headband in her hair, struggling to hold her thick hair in place. Her top was a sexy little black number, a thin strapped tank top that plunged deeply past her cleavage, exposing the inner sides of her breasts that was held in place by an addition set of straps that crossed in an x shape over her chest. It was loose on her thin figure, giving it a beachy and breathable vibe. She wore a tight, high waisted white skirt that stretched down and ended just above her knee, with a crochet texture. Gajeel was glad that it was tight and showed off her best asset, but was long enough that no more creeps would be able to try to take a peak up it. She wore a pair of sandals on her feet that had thick straps over the stop and around the ankle, with a little decorative tassel on the bridge of her foot and gave her a few additional inches of height. She completed her look with a few accessories here and there, and as soon as she had gotten ready she had put her dj'ing headphones on, and fiddled with them as they sat around her neck, waiting to be put on over her ears.

Levy's eyes met his, but he instinctively glanced away. He was on the clock tonight, no time for any flirting when he was on duty. He took another look around the crowd, noting that a man dressed in professional attire was headed straight towards Levy with a determined look on his face. Gajeel tensed and marched quickly to reach Levy before the man. He stood at her side, standing up a bit straighter and crossing his arms, he glared at the incoming man. Levy looked up towards Gajeel with confusion, and followed his glare towards the man in the suit.

"Oh," Levy chirped, "It's Loke, he is the lead manager, he deals with my contracts and such. Hello, Loke!" She called, the man's face changed from determined to excitement, as he approached her with wide open arms and embraced her with a hug.

"Levy, babe," the one known as Loke crooned with excitement, Gajeel growled lowly at the nickname. "You've sold out the show with your headliner. As soon as your new single dropped, tickets sold out in a flash. Not only here! All over the world. You've been asked to perform at some of the largest music festivals in Europe!"

Her mouth lay agape in shock as Levy took in the news, but she didn't have much time to process the news before she was ushered on stage to set up for her performance. Gajeel followed her, blocking the only access to the stage with his large body and watched as she ran around the small space to set up her equipment. She took her place in front of the mixing board and glanced around her, double checking that everything was in place. Gajeel met her eyes, and she winked at him before pulling her headphones up to her ears and beginning her performance with a few words to the audience.

"How are we doin' tonight guys?" Levy's voice echoed loudly in the speakers surrounding him, and the crowd broke out in an enormous cheer. She chuckled at the loud response before continuing, "I feel the same way guys! I just got some really amazing news, and I've had a few other good things happen to me lately. Now, I know you guys are probably expecting me to play my new single first, yeah?"

Shouts came from the crowd in reply to her question.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you..." a few boo's could be heard. "But I'm going to share with you a single that hasn't even dropped yet, how do you feel about that?" Levy coaxed the crowd, and they again exploded into even louder cheers and shouts.

"What? What the fuck is she doing?" Loke shouted from behind Gajeel, "Levy!" But Levy ignored Loke's cries of confusion and began the track.

A loud bass shook the floor beneath Gajeel's boots, and a repetitive beat began, before it trailed off with a tinkling sound. Levy leaned in towards the microphone and began to sing.

"Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you." Levy's voice sang in a lower pitch than she did earlier that day, and Gajeel's ears immediately perked up to listen to the song that they had first listened to together, that he knew the chords to completely by heart and played on his guitar for her.

"By now, you should've somehow realized what you gotta do..." One of Levy's hands held her head phone in place, as the other hung off so she could hear what was coming out of the speakers, and the other hand slid across the board as it moved notches and switches to cue the sounds she wanted. Gajeel was completely absorbed in watching Levy work her magic across the board, and as she sang the next line, she looked over at him and locked her eyes on his.

"I don't believe that anybody, feels the way I do, about you now." A smirk crossed her face, and she returned her eyes back to her work, "backbeat, the word was on the street that the fire in your heart is out. I'm sure, you've heard it all before, but you've never really had a doubt. I don't believe that anybody, feels the way I do about you now."

Her voice increased in pitch and she closed her eyes in concentration as she focused on hitting the next notes, a flute melody joining into the beat for a moment to match the pitch of her voice. "And all the roads we have to walk are winding, and all the lights that lead us there are blinding. There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how, no I don't know how."

Honey eyes locked back onto Gajeel's, as his heart beat pounded loudly in time with the song, and his heart seemed to soar in his chest as her eyes boar into his soul.

"Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me... and after all... you're my wonderwall."

After Levy's performance, which Gajeel would never admit to actually enjoying, or finding himself tapping his foot to the beat, there was an after party thrown for Levy by her crew. Loke had invited Lucy who brought Natsu with her, much to Loke's dismay. Despite Levy, Lucy, and Natsu's attempts to get Gajeel to have a drink and relax a bit, he stood completely on guard. Keeping close to Levy's side and monitoring closely who had interactions with her. Levy had described the man who had been stalking her as a tall, lanky man who wore black lipstick and eyeliner. His hair was cut into a mullet, the short top was black and the long back was platinum white. But Gajeel figured that the man could easily hide his identity by covering his hair and removing his makeup, they had no idea what he looked like underneath, he could pose as a friend.

Levy kept throwing back shots with Lucy as Natsu laughed at the silly things the drunk girls were saying and eating all the food in sight. He was staying sober so that he could drive Lucy home, he decided to join Gajeel on his watch and keep an eye out for the bastard. He had already heard from Makrov what the situation was and how long it had been going on for, so he took it upon his self to read the case file. He knew that Lucy spent much of her time with Levy and could be targeted, and he wanted to help protect his friend as well.

Natsu could immediately tell that there was something deeper going on, as Gajeel stood watch his eyes kept falling on Levy and watching her movements with longing, before surveying across the room again. Normally he would complain that his job was to be a body guard, not a nurse and that he wouldn't be taking care of the client if they couldn't handle their alcohol. But he was silent as he stood watch over Levy, though after awhile, he told the barmaid to switch their vodka out for water and tipped her generously for doing so.

"So, have you made your move yet?" Natsu asked nonchalantly.

Gajeel scowled deeply at the comment, "The fuck you talkin' 'bout Salamander?" He grumbled, not looking at his friend.

"You know, you, being in the same situation I was in with Lucy, but with Levy... Ya kiss her yet?" Natsu explained in a teasing voice, like it was simple as that.

As a waitress passed by with a plate of sandwiches, Gajeel grabbed one and took a large bite so he wouldn't have to talk to the pink haired freak about his love life. Natsu was continually prodding at him for answers when Levy stood and walked over to him, slightly drunk and struggling to walk straight.

"Gajeeeeeeeeeel, come share a dance with me before we go home." Levy whined drunkenly at him, as Lucy approached as well, telling Natsu she wanted to eat tacos on the way home. Natsu stood with his arms crossed and his girl hanging from his shoulder, smirking widely at Gajeel. Huffing and rolling his eyes at Natsu, he nodded to Levy and let her drag him to the floor.

It had been awhile since Gajeel had danced at a club, and it took him a few moments to get into the vibe, but Levy was already dancing. She might have been stumbling drunk on her way over, but now her movements were fluid and graceful. Her hips swayed back and forth to the beat of the techno song playing, moving her arms in abstract designs, and swaying to a fro slowly, until the beat of the music increased in speed. She looked to Gajeel, motioning for him to join her with her fingers, her hand outstretched for his. He approached and let her take his hand, she used it to spin her into his body, and she ground her backside into his hips, leading his hands to her body and giving him permission to explore. He placed his palms over her flat stomach, rubbing over her shirt gently and returning her movements with his hips. Levy's hands reached for his hair, entangling her fingers in his mane and pulling his face near hers.

Gajeel's lips brushed her ear, his breath hot and heavy against her. He heard her breath hitch in her throat, and her fingers moved to his neck. They continued moving to the music, loud and booming, their heart beats thumped with the bass. The temp began to increase, electronic sounds scatting quickly, Gajeel felt a sense of anxiety caused by the rapid change but before he could feel uncomfortable, the bass dropped suddenly and the tempo slowed, the deep sounds elongating. Levy pressed her body closer to his, continuously grinding her hips against him and moving her hands around his head as her shoulders rolled and she arched her back. Her best asset pressed against his groin, he struggled to contain his pants from tightening. Gajeel slid his hands down her hips and over her thighs, brushing past her core, and all his efforts to restrain himself ended in vain when she moaned quietly.

Suddenly he was very aware of the growing problem in his pants, and the sensual girl in front of him was indeed drunk... his rationality returned as his mood died along with the song, and he whispered to Levy that it seemed like a good time to leave. She was surprised that he had stopped responding to her movements, pouting her lips before she yawned and nodded in agreement.

As soon as Gajeel got on the road in Levy's car, she had fallen asleep leaning on the center console. By the time they had reached the penthouse, Levy was snoring loudly and drooling. He chuckled at her adorableness, as he undid her seatbelt and lifted her into his arms. Carrying her into the lobby, into the elevator and down the hall. As the door swung open, Lily came charging at him to rub up against his leg.

"Move your ass, cat, I've got to get Shorty to bed." He grumped at his cat before scooting him out of the way with his foot. He carried Levy to her end of the house and guessed at which one was her room, figuring it was the one painted with stars and clouds with a shining crescent moon. Gajeel made his way through the moonlight room, and placed Levy on the large bed. He gently removed her sandals, and tucked her into the blanket at the end of the bed.

Gajeel sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, staring at her sleeping face with a gentle look in his eye. He couldn't contain the feeling in his chest for her, that grew more and more with every passing day. He wanted to protect her, he wanted to see her succeed, he wanted to share happiness with her, the future with her. His chest tightened as he was overcome with these realizations, and he sighed deeply.

Before he left for his own bed, he gently kissed her forehead. Turning to leave, he noticed a framed photo on her nightstand. A medium built man with dark hair, his bangs pushed back with gel, wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses was holding a small, blue haired toddler and a small woman blue haired woman stood behind him, her arms wrapped around him. They all looked so happy, their eyes shining and wide smiles, just happy to be together.

Behind the frame of the three family members lay even more photos, a growing Levy and her parents, with musical instruments, on a tiny motorcycle, and then Levy on her 17th birthday with her bike, Mavis. The photo furthest away was one of her parents together, her father playing the trumpet and her mother at a piano, looking at each other with more love in their eyes than Gajeel had ever seen. He was overcome with a thankful feeling that Levy had experienced such love in her life growing up, more than he had ever had, and grief that she had lost it too.

He promised himself that he would work until the end of his days to show her that kind of love once again.


	6. Chapter 6

Fairy tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, Can't Help Falling in Love belongs to Elvis.

There is a small mention of drugs in this chapter.

The next morning, Gajeel awoken by being bombarded with texts from Juvia.

"Rise and shine Gajeel-kun, today is the big day!"

"Have you finished packing your clothing?

"What set do you want to play tonight? Juvia thinks Levy will enjoy your cover of Elvis!"

"The Strauss's are doing the catering tonight."

"Gajeel-kun, wake up!"

Rolling towards his nightstand with a groan, he read the messages on his phone in annoyance. He loved his sister, but sometimes she could be so... overbearing and motherly. Emotional. Annoying... but she could kick his ass, so he knew better than to anger her. Sitting up from his bed and stretching he decided to go start a pot of coffee, figuring Levy would have quite the hangover with the night of drinking she did. He pulled a white t-shirt off the chair and walked out of the room with just his black boxer briefs on. As he rounded the corner to the kitchen he pulled the shirt on over his head, not realizing that Levy was already awake and drinking coffee in the kitchen, and that he had just exposed his bare chest to her.

"Ahem." A small voice said, his eyes focusing on the source. Levy stood, leaning over the kitchen counter, her hands around a coffee cup and her round bottom that had graced him with all it's glory the night before, was sticking out behind her. She wearing a black silky tank top and short set. She was blowing the steam over a cup of coffee, wearing a mischievous look on her face. Gajeel stood awkwardly, mouth agape and shirt half on, she had surprised him.

Pulling his shirt down the rest of the way, he cleared his throat. "Uh, s-sorry, I figured you'd still be asleep." He mumbled

"Hmm, I'm an early riser." Levy grinned into her cup, her eyes glued to his tight shirt, "No need to apologize..."

Gajeel smirked at her boldness. "Is there any of that for me?" He asked, pointing to her coffee cup.

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, of course, Gajeel. Help yourself." Levy's eyes broke from his chest and went back to the book she had been reading on the countertop, sipping at her coffee.

Gajeel entered the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee, grabbing a cookie from the open container Levy left on the counter. He turned to see that Levy's shorts had pulled up as she bent over, exposing the bottom of her cheeks and framing her ass. The silky black material was stretched tight over her large asset, and Gajeel grinned mischievously. He came up behind her to set his coffee on the counter, and gave her ass a smack. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough so that the sound seemed to echo in his ears as he watched it jiggle with a grin.

"Gajeel!" Levy shrieked as she turned around, grabbing her backside, as if it protect it from any more smacks. He closed the distance between them, pressing her up against the counter and placing his hands on either side of the counter around her.

"What?" He questioned with a grin. "You didn't seem to have any problems rubbing it up against me yesterday when we danced, Shorty."

Levy blushed a deep red as she recalled her actions from the night before, getting drunk with Lu-chan always led to trouble. Levy had the bad habit of doing anything Lucy dared her to do... and she had dared Levy to dance with Gajeel last night.

"Besides," Gajeel continued, leaning in closer to her face until their noses almost touched, "You told me to help myself." Rolling her eyes, she smacked his chest lightly.

"Oh, stop it, you." Levy chuckled, snaking her arms around his waist and bringing him in for a hug. Gajeel's hands reached for hips and rubbed circles on the silk shorts.

"I can't help it, you're too fuckin' cute when you blush. It just makes me want to squeeze you." He growled, hooking his hands around her thighs and lifting her onto the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his hips closer to her, until their cores were pressed against each other. For a moment they avoided eye contact, exploring each others bodies up close instead. Gajeel ran his hands gently up and down her thighs, around her hips to give her booty a squeeze. Levy held one of his ears in her hand, rubbing circles on his lobe in between her fingers as she played with his long hair, loose around his shoulders.

Levy was the one who broke the silence, she laid her head on his shoulder and spoke quietly.

"Gajeel, what are we?"

He knew it was inevitable... he wanted to be with her more than anything, but he had things he had to set right before hand. This job was going to pay back his debt.

Being in the club last night reminded him the thin line he was walking on. Surrounded by party-goers, high on their club drugs to intensify their experiences. He had known what they were on, drugs that he had once used and sold. Most of them probably had no idea the dangerous scene that went on behind their five minute exchange with their dealer. Dealers who were probably deeply in debt and under the control of some fat, lazy, bastard who took advantage of people for money and power. Someone like he ended up under. Someone like Jose.

Gajeel was not an innocent man, he had gotten into deep shit in the past. It started out when he was just a kid, orphaned and then kicked out of the foster system on his 18th birthday, he had nowhere to go. He worked long hours and spent his money on alcohol to mask the pain, spent his free time playing music on the street for money. It wasn't until one of his so-called buddy's exposed him to ecstasy that Gajeel tampered with anything harder than booze. But just one use got him hooked.

It wasn't the drug in particular that got him, but the way it amplified everything around him. He found himself in bars, sitting next to speakers to feel the vibrations rumble through his veins. Staring into the bright lights of passing cars as they flew by, leaving trails like shooting stars. Eventually, he had gotten in so deep that he was in debt to the guy who got him into it in the first place. He told Gajeel that he should start selling to pay for his drugs, that he could take him to his boss and give a good word, and Gajeel was in too deep to think rationally.

Jose immediately brought Gajeel into his gang, providing him with room and board, coming out of his profits of course. By the time Gajeel had sold the drugs, paid for his housing, and gotten his high, he was too broke to buy a beer. Jose started recruiting him for higher paying jobs because of his imagine, tall, dark, and scary, no one would fuck with Gajeel. He ended up working as Jose's guard on large jobs, as he met with other dealers in exchanges. Gajeel insured that the drugs were indeed pure, and provided protection. He got to get high for free, and beat the shit out of anyone who tried anything. It was a win-win in his eyes.

Until his luck ran out. The drugs stopped affecting him as much, and his ties with Jose had been destroyed when a run went bad. It ended with Gajeel pinned to the hood of a cop car, surrounded by armed police men, and Jose being arrested with 10 pounds of cocaine with intent to sell, and Gajeel had been arrested as an accomplice. Jose managed to get bailed out and was preparing to ran away to some paradise, but not before coming after Gajeel's head for getting him arrested and losing money for him.

For some reason unbeknownst to Gajeel, a rival gang leader, named Makarov, offered to pay for Gajeel's debts to Jose to spare his head. After Gajeel had agreed to his terms, that he would get cleaned up and work for Makarov in his body guard business until his debt was repaid, Jose was busted again for breaking parole on his way to Brazil. He was sentenced to life in prison, and it was revealed that Makarov was an undercover cop. He had been working on busting Jose for years, and he finally had the opportunity to do so, thanks to Gajeel's slip up. But he could tell that underneath it all, Gajeel was a good person in a bad situation, and the actions Makarov had taken to save Gajeel from Jose's wrath were not in vain. Gajeel turned out to be one of his top body guards who took his job seriously, and had stayed clean since the incident.

But this job with Levy, a year long contract, would pay off the rest of the few thousand dollars that Gajeel owed Makarov instead of it taking another few years with his regular paying jobs. He didn't want to force Levy to continue paying for his protection if they were an item, like Lucy and Natsu, that would be ridiculous to him. There was also no way in hell that he would let anyone take over the job with some psycho-stalker tracking her. He felt he was stuck between a rock and a hard spot.

Levy noticed the internal battle Gajeel was suffering from, and slipped out from under his grip.

"Gajeel, if this is going too fast, or you're uncomfortable in anyway, just... just tell me." Levy's bottom lip quivered and her eyes started to water, and a pain deeper than any Gajeel had ever felt overcame him. No, he would never hurt her. He would never make her cry.

He charged towards her, grabbing her by her arms and looking her dead in the eye.

"Levy, no." Gajeel affirmed, "It's not that... I promise... it's just..." His eyes began to wonder, how would he even begin to explain to her?

A breath Levy didn't even know she had been holding released, "Gajeel, if this is about the money... I already paid Makarov in full."

He released his grip on her arms, and took a step back in shock.

"What?" He asked, confused.

Levy shrugged her shoulders, "Makarov explained what happened... not in depth, he said some parts were up to you to tell me. I think he knew this would happen... us, I mean."

Gajeel stood, staring at her in awe. His own eyes began to water, and he chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah that old bastard would know, wouldn't he." He closed the distance between them, bringing Levy in close to his chest and cradling her gently.

"Levy, I already decided that I want to protect you for the rest of my days... whatever that means for you, is what we are."

Staring into his eyes while cradled in his embrace, she simply responded, "I am yours... and you are mine."

The time came to get ready for Gajeel's going-away-performance, and he dressed in a grey button down, with a charcoal vest that had a satin back and matching pants, with a black satin tie. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing the studs along his forearm. He pulled his long, thick hair back into the neatest bun he could manage, though it wasn't neat in the least. He exchanged his normal combat boots for a sleek pair of shiny black dress shoes, and carried out his guitar case and another large rectangular black case.

He waited for Levy on the living room couch with his feet on the table, scratching Lily behind the ears. When she emerged from her room, she sauntered slowly into the room, giving her hips an extra sway to catch his attention, and that it did. He stood immediately from his seat to get a better look at her. She wore a floor length, light gray silk dress. It was simple, thin strapped dress that had a low cut neckline, exposing her cleavage but not dipping as low as her shirt from the previous night. It hugged her hips tightly, but split at the sides, exposing her toned and long legs. She gave a turn, to show him the whole dress, the back plunged low, almost to her bottom, and the fabric gathered in layers making her ass look a little bigger- not that she needed it. She wore tall black heels, and her freshly painted black toenails stuck out, her fingers were painted to match. She wore her hair so her bangs were pulled back with a twist, and the rest lay around her shoulders, curly.

Gajeel didn't realize he had been holding his breath until she approached him, and straightened his tie for him.

"Shorty- wow... I mean, fucking wow." He enunciated.

Levy giggled gently, and replied, "You look pretty fucking 'wow' your self."

When they walked into the club, Gajeel had his hand on her lower back, gently guiding her into the building. All eyes turned to them, and the room died into silence for a moment before erupting in to cheers.

"He did it! Gajeel finally got a girl!"

"Oh, look, they're so cute together!"

"A perfect match."

"Alright, who had bets on them hooking up by the going away party?"

"Oi!"

"MY CHILDREN, PLEASE." A booming voice was heard over all the rest, Makarov stood on the bar with a drink in his hand. The room quieted and the heads all turned to the short man with his arm held up in toast.

"Gajeel, Levy, may you stay safe on your upcoming travels, and may you always remember, that where there is love, there is no sin. Huzzah!" He ended his speech by throwing back his drink, and the room shouted after him, "Huzzah!"

Levy looked at Gajeel with a light blush on her face, and came in close to lay her hand on his chest in a simple embrace.

"And Levy," Makarov continued, "Welcome to the Fairy Tail family, my dear."

The room was filled with Gajeel friends, Levy was thankful that they ended up having many mutual friends. Lucy, Natsu, Makarov, Juvia, and Gray, she already knew. Gajeel introduced everyone by their nicknames, even reintroducing her to people she already knew just so he could call them by their nicknames.

"Salamander, Bunny girl you already know, my sister Rain woman and the Ice Princess..."

"Fuck off, Iron Breath," Gray responded, "It's great to see you again, Levy."

They approached another group, a tall woman with long red hair stood with a blue haired man with a strange tattoo on his face, "Titania and Jellal..."

The woman smiled kindly, "My name is Erza Scarlet, this is my husband Jellal. Please, if there is anything you need, even whipping this one into shape, I would be happy to help. I also work at Seven Dragons." Levy thanked her politely and they moved on to the next group.

"The Demon and her demon siblings," Gajeel grumbled, twitching slightly when the woman with long white hair glared at him, she introduced herself as Mirajane, also a body guard, her sister Lisanna, and brother Elfman.

"Lighting Rod and his fan girls," Gajeel pointed to a man about his size with blonde hair and a scar over his eye, with a group around him, a green haired man, a man with a tattoo in the middle of his face and his tongue hanging out, and a brown haired woman with glasses. They introduced themselves respectively as Laxus, Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen. Laxus mentioned he was introduced as one of the Seven of the Seven Dragons, though more than just the dragons worked there, there was a elite group referred to as the Dragons, like Gajeel, they all seemed to have keener senses than most.

The rest of the male "seven dragons" were introduced as Sting, a upbeat blonde man who reminded her of Natsu, a brooding black haired man who looked like he was related to Gajeel, though any relation was denied, named Rouge, a brown haired man with a scar over his eye so deep that he could not open it, named Cobra.

Many other people were introduced, Levy was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, trying to remember names and face, and lastly they came to a small girl, with long blue pony tails named Wendy, the smallest and "in training" of the Dragons. Gajeel seemed to have a special fondness for the girl, bragging about how she had just earned her black belt in martial arts. She carried around a white kitten with her named Charla, and she gave both Gajeel and Levy hugs before running off to with kids her own age.

As the stage was set for the performance, Gajeel made sure that all of the Seven Dragons and the additional body guards were surrounding Levy in the audience without her knowing. Lucy and Natsu sat directly next to her, with Erza and Wendy on the other side, and the rest of the dragons at her back. They were instructed to have at least two guards on her at all times. None of them thought it was excessive, they all cared for Levy as an extension of Gajeel as soon as they met her, and they would expect the same from their friends if they were in the same situation.

Juvia, Gajeel, Gray, Laxus, and Mirajane were all scheduled to perform. Levy was very excited to see what Gajeel had in store for her, she already experienced a bit of his singing and she enjoyed how deep and raspy his voice was. Mirajane was the first to go on stage, her voice was light and angelic, playing an acoustic guitar while she sang a lullaby about the strength of friendship. Laxus performed on the bass guitar and Gray played drums while Juvia and Mira sang a jazzy duet. Another few songs were played, and Levy enjoyed each and every one of them. They all inspired her musically, and she had to dig into her purse for a pen and not

Levy was so busy jotting down ideas that she didn't notice the stage dim, and Gajeel take his place on the middle of the stage on a stool, guitar in hand. Lucy nudged Levy in her side to get her attention, and as she looked up, she locked eyes with Gajeel as he strummed the first chord to his song.

Gajeel's sang in a deep and raspy voice as his eyes continued to stare into Levy's as she sat in the front row.

"Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help… falling in love with you." A shy smirk crossed Gajeel's face along with a light pink blush over his cheeks as he continued to sing his confession.

Shall I stay? Would it be a _sin_ , if I can't help falling in love with you? Like a river rolls, surely to the sea, darlin' so it goes. Somethings are meant to be."

As Gajeel completed his performance, the crowded of his friends whistled and cheered enthusiastically for the first time that he could recall. Usually their applause for his solos were... polite. A pride swelled in his chest, and he hopped off the stage to meet Levy and share his moment of pride with her. Her hands reached for his face, and she pulled him down into a passionate kiss as the crowded continued to cheer and catcall.

Levy broke from the kiss, with swollen lips and watery eyes, she declared:

"I love you too, Gajeel."

His lips crashed on top of hers once more, but only for a brief moment.

"Gihihi. I've got a surprise for you Lev." Gajeel chuckled, and he turned to take his spot on the stage once more and Juvia walked up to a large bass and took a seat behind it, ready to strum. Gajeel opened the rectangular black case that he had carried into the building, revealing inside a shiny gold trumpet. He walked to the front of the stage with it in hand, and gave Levy a wink. Her face was full of surprise and confusion as she watched him lift the instrument to his mouth, and inhale deeply before blowing the first few notes to a song. Juvia matched his notes with deep, vibrating strums from her bass.

Gajeel lowered the trumpet from his mouth, and began scatting sounds with his mouth before singing. "Shooby doo bop, sha la la, I once fought a demon, shooby doo bop…"

As their duel performance continued, Levy's eyes began to tear. Emotions swelled within her chest, and she felt as though she was going to burst with a lethal combination of pride, delight, surprise, mixed with an indescribable longing and sadness. Her father used to play the trumpet. Gajeel had proven time after time to be so much like her father, that Levy didn't know how to respond. Her father had been her biggest influence and her best friend while he was alive. He loved her deeply and fiercely, and her mother as well. Their death left a hole in Levy's heart that she thought would remain empty for the rest of her days. But here Gajeel was, filling the emptiness within her in so many unexpected ways.

Their current song ended, and more band members joined the mix to play more upbeat songs, a few people stood up around her to dance, but Levy sat. She watched intently at all the musicians, watching their fingers move, and jotting down notes on her pad the string of notes she enjoyed the most. Her toes tapped to the beat under her dress, and her shoulders rolled back and forth as she shimmied in her seat along with the music.

Gajeel wiped the sweat from his brow, looking up from his trumpet into the crowd. He saw Levy, wide eyed and in awe, jotting down notes, he smiled at how meticulous she could often be, and passionate above all. His eyes scanned over the Dragons, and it was then that he could sense that something was slightly off. Erza sat calmly next to Levy, but was on high alert, while Wendy next to her repeatedly kept turning in her seat, sniffing the air around her. He saw Natsu tense and wrap his arm tightly around Lucy, whispering into her ear something that made Lucy's face harden and scoot closer to Levy. The rest of the Dragons had all turned their heads in different directions, spreading their skills wide over the room to detect where the sense of trouble was lurking from.

Juvia approached Gajeel with a worried look, her eyes asked him if what she thought was going on was indeed happening. He stood from his stool, eyes scanning over the crowd for any familiarities, and he took a moment to deeply inhale with his eyes shut tight.

There.

The bastard was there.


	7. Chapter 7

Giving Juvia a glance, she understood immediately what to do. She returned to her spot in front of the microphone and engaged the audience, especially Levy in a small conversation. Gajeel scanned the crowd for anyone whose eyes were not on Juvia, and finally he found what he was looking for. A waiter the club had brought it, standing at the table to the side of the room, pretending to text on his phone that was aimed at Levy. He was dressed in a black waiter's uniform and apron, his hair was pulled up under a hat, but Gajeel could see stray white hairs poking out from underneath. His face was clean of the makeup Levy had described on him in the police report, but the man stood with his phone aimed towards Levy and his bottom lip sucked between his teeth, like he was enjoying it. The fire within Gajeel's belly immediately roared to life at full force, and it took all his effort not to jump off the stage and pummel the bastard into the ground. In his days working for Jose, he would in a heartbeat, butt today he wouldn't. He would catch the bastard and put him behind bars where he belonged.

The audience was laughing and enjoying the story Juvia was telling about when she and Gajeel had first started performing and the audience would compare Gajeel's voice to nails on a chalkboard. Levy was giggling and bright eyed, entranced by the story. Gajeel finally locked eyes with one of the Dragons, Natsu, and he quietly motioned to the rest that their target had been found by lifting his arms above his head as if to stretch, and scratching the back of his , Cobra, Sting, and Rogue all sat up a little straighter in their seats. Rouge leaded forward in his seat behind Erza and Wendy, tapping their shoulders three times. Laxus leaned towards Mirajane, seated next to him and ran his hand down her leg and gave her knee a tight squeeze, Gajeel could see her face harden and she seemed to sprout horns from her head as the air around her darkened. His signal had sent off a chain reaction of similar signals, and now all the dragons and present bodyguards were aware that their target was here and in sight. He made eye contact with Natsu again, and then moved his eyes to stare down the waiter on the side of the room. Natsu nodded his head, and a silent plan was put into action.

He knew the best thing to do would be to continue on stage, maintain Levy and the rest of the audience's attention so that no one would suspect any issue. He walked towards Juvia with his trumpet and motioned for her to continue with the show, sending Levy a wink in the audience. Her smile was enough to keep him sane, if only for a few moments. As they began the song, and Gajeel started blowing air into his instrument, he saw the Slayers stand from their spots one by one, covering all the exits they could. Erza excused herself to the restroom, and Wendy scooted over in her spot to Levy, telling Levy she was sleepy and Levy wrapped her arm around the young girl to comfort her. But what Wendy was really doing was anchoring Levy to someone physically, so the stalker would be less likely to try to approach her.

When everyone was in place, there was a small set change, Gajeel lowered his trumpet and strapped his guitar around his neck instead. He kept his eye on Levy, trying to keep his face from hardening with frustration, hoping his actions didn't seem forced or hostile. But when his eye flickered to the side of the room and before landing back on Levy, her smile immediately dropped. She looked to Juvia, who seemed calm and composed, but was clenching her dress in her fists. Levy squeezed Wendy tighter to her side, as if she was protecting the girl and not the other way around, and turned her head to Lucy to look at her with concerned eyes.

It was now or never, he cleared his throat loudly and his a wrong note on his guitar as signal, before continuing to play like normal and he witnessed Laxus and Mira approach the table where the stalker stood, chattering amongst themselves as if they were only approaching the table to get food. Mira walked around to the other side of the man, to stop him from being able to escape from that direction, and just before she was about to tap him on the shoulder to ask for some food item behind him, he stood from his leaning position, and put his phone in his pocket, and walked towards the back of the room.

Gajeel struggled to focus on playing while keeping an eye over what was going on. His heart was hammering in his head and he could hear his own shallow breathing. His chest felt tight with frustration and anger, his hands craved the ability to clench together and punch something, his stomach bubbling with fury, he felt he might lose his dinner under the pressure.

Mira motioned Rogue and Sting to take over, they were guarding the main entrance. The man walked past them, and on to where Natsu stood. The man walked past him, and Natsu stuck his foot out just in time to trip the man, catching him as he fell and removing his phone from his pocket without notice. The stalker flustered, brushing himself off and backing away, patting himself down to check if anything had been taken. He noticed his phone had gone missing, he stared at Natsu with wide eyes, before bolting past him towards the main entrance.

The bustle began as the Dragons and guards marched to cut the man off, it took every ounce of Gajeel's strength to not jump off the stage and run after him. Rogue and Sting blocked the entrance, still pretending to chatter as to not alert the stalker that they were intending to stop him. Just before he ran past Sting, he stuck a strong arm out, hitting the man in the chest and knocking him to his feet. That gave the rest of the guards time to make it over and surround the man, blocking him up against a large glass window.

Gajeel grinned to himself as his teammates had the bastard trapped, "Gotcha, bitch." He thought to himself.

Natsu held the phone up to the man, showing evidence that he had indeed been stalking Levy, his phone filled with pictures taken of her without her permission, her music, articles about her, information about where she would be and when. Gajeel could hear them accusing him with his keen ears, though no one else probably could. In the split second he took to look down at Levy and give her a reassuring smile, there was a enormous crash that brought the whole club to a standstill.

Standing from his stool and tossing his guitar to the side, he ran for Levy while taking in the situation. The stalker had jumped through the large front window, effectively shattering the entire front, and the Dragons were climbing through, chasing after him, while Erza shouted instructions on how to branch out. Mira was on the phone, calling her connection at the police station, while Sting attended to a bleeding Rouge who was shouting "Stop worrying about me and go after the bastard!"

Makarov rose from his spot and shouted to the audience to stay calm over their worried shouts and confusion. He promised his children an explanation as soon as he gathered all the details, and asked everyone to stay put for the time being.

Gajeel could feel Levy fidgeting in his arms, he looked down to find her crying while holding Wendy and petting her hair. His heart almost ripped in two, struggling between the pain it caused him to see her upset, and how adorable she was still trying to care for someone else when she was upset. He pulled both the girls into his chest tight, kissed them on the forehead and let Lucy take over.

He walked towards the broken window where Makarov stood speaking with a bloody Rouge, he had been knocked into the window by the stalker. Sting had left to chase in pursuit, but as Gajeel stepped through the broken glass and looked around the street, he realized that the Dragons were making their way back-empty handed. From the other end of the street, the police finally showed up, three cars with lights on. They stopped to confirm if the perpetrator had been caught, and his description before two took off and one stayed for statements.

The boiling anger in his stomach finally boiled over as his coworkers and friends returned without any evidence of where the man had gone. His fingers ran frantically through his hair, pulling his face back slightly.

"What the fuck happened? How the fuck did he manage to get away from FOUR DRAGONS and TWO GUARDS. Can you bastards not do your goddamn job properly without me? Do we need all nine of us to finish a fucking job, do we need to call Gildarts in too?" He screamed into the streets as his six friends approached with defeated looks on their faces, out of breath from running for blocks after the man.

Erza approached him with a deathly ambience radiating off of her and slapped him across the face. "What happened? I'll tell you what happened. He threw Rogue out of a window and made a run for it, effectively evading us by throwing everything into the street as he could, and after we had split up and had him cornered in an alley, he pulled out a gun and tried to shoot at us, and then he vanished. Just vanished, as three of us had eyes on him! So keep your composure, Gajeel, because this isn't just about you any more."

The rest of the group closed in around Gajeel, and he realized the damage they had taken to protect Levy. Natsu had shredded his pants at the knee and that was gushing blood. Sting was covered in Rogue's blood, and had a road rash of his own. Laxus tried to cover a limp while he walked and Cobra held his head as a bump was forming. Mirajane seemed unscathed, but was the most shaken as Laxus pulled her close to his chest.

Suddenly the weight on his shoulders felt so heavy, and his knees felt so weak. Gajeel didn't even realize until he was already down that he had fallen to his knees, clutching his hair between his fists in frustration. Mirajane gasped in shock, and the rest were taken aback. No one had ever seen Gajeel show the slightest ounce of weakness, of pain, of concern before. And now, here he was, down on his knees in frustration.

His heartbeat hammered so loudly in his head that he couldn't make out what his friends were saying. His vision blurred as he stared down at the asphalt road, he tried blinking his eyes, and his vision cleared for a second before becoming blurry again. His head spun in circles, he felt like being sick. They had him, he was almost in their grasp. Levy… Levy was probably scared as hell. He was scared.

Lucy held Levy's hand as she led her out the door where Levy found the Dragons moving Gajeel to the curb. He was conscious, but wasn't responding. They surrounded her boyfriend, attempting to shout his name and wake him from the trance he was in. Levy ran to his side and asked what had happened. Erza explained that Gajeel erupted in a fit of anger when they had returned empty handed, and apologized for letting the man get away but explained that he had shot at them before disappearing on them.

Levy looked around at the group, many of her new friends were injured. She watched Lucy as she fussed over Natsu's bleeding knee, Mira clinging to Laxus as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Rogue was being loaded into an ambulance and Sting was following. Her eyes suddenly blurred as the tears built up and began to fall heavily.

"Th-thank you, thank you all for protecting me, even though you only just met me. I'm so glad you're all alive." Levy choked out.

Mirajane left Laxus's side and moved to embrace Levy in a warm hug.

"It doesn't matter if we've known you for an hour or ten years, Levy. You are part of our family now, and we protect our family no matter the cost." Her soft voice said, as she comforted her new crying friend.

A small, warm hand brushed his shoulder, and he could faintly hear what sounded like his name being called. His vision suddenly came into focus and he found himself sitting on curb of the road, they must of moved him. His pants were now dirty, and his shoes scuffed at the toe.

His name was called again, "Gajeel… are you okay?"

It was Levy. He looked to his side, where she sat on the curb next to him with her eyebrows furrowed in concern. Gajeel released a long breath and moved to press his forehead against hers. She was safe, that's what mattered at the moment.

"Yeah… yeah I'm okay Lev, I'm-... I'm really sorry. I don't know what overcame me there." He leaned up to kiss her forehead and bring her to his chest, she sank into him as she clung to his vest. Gajeel looked up to find his group of coworkers and friends surrounding them in a protective circle, Wendy, Juvia, Lucy, and Makarov had joined the group, but Rogue and Sting were missing. He looked around at each of them before exhaling heavily.

"Fuck… I- uh… I apologize for the way I acted. You guys put your lives on the line to protect Levy, and I am eternally grateful for that." His eyes darted back and forth between them, not able to make eye contact as he apologized for one of the first times in his life.

Natsu punched him in the arm playfully. "You would, and _have_ done the same for us, Iron Breath."

After the police report was done and Gajeel's instruments had been packed into the car, they finally made their way home. Their goodbyes had been said, it would be a year before they were to come home again. Levy received the phone numbers from all the girls, and promised to add them all on Facebook so they could get updates about their travels. She promised to send Lucy, Juvia, and Wendy post cards and trinkets on her travels, and after many hugs and fallen tears, they made their way home to the penthouse, followed by Erza and Jellal, who would guard the building that night.

Gajeel opened the door to the penthouse and Lily immediately came running towards them, he bent down to pet his cat, but he was passed by in order to run to Levy and rub against her legs. Levy giggled and bent down to cradle the cat in her arms.

"The little traitor!" Gajeel said with exasperation.

"Don't be jealous, he just loves me more." Levy giggled as she carried him into her bedroom.

Gajeel followed close behind her, apprehensive in his own home as he checked every corner. When they reached her room, he insisted on opening the door and stepping in before her. He gave the room a quick scan for anything out of place, and approached her window to pull the drapes shut. Levy set Lily down on the bed, and retreated to her walk-in closet to change.

Taking a moment to glance around the room, he noted the amount of books on the shelves that lined her wall. He didn't notice them the first time he entered her bedroom, but there must have been a thousand books or more. He chuckled to himself, she had a collecting quirk for music and books and motorcycles that put his instrument collection to shame.

Levy returned to the room with her makeup wiped off, wearing a simple white boatneck t-shirt and a pair of black booty shorts. She ran a brush through her hair carefully and she looked lost in thought.

Gajeel cleared his throat quietly.

"Well, I guess I'm going to go to bed Shorty… big day ahead of us and all."

Their plane ride would take up most of the day as they flew over the Atlantic Ocean to London. Gajeel still had some packing to do, and they would need to load all of their things into the car to take to the airport.

He made move to leave the room when Levy ran at him, her arms wrapping around his body and pulling him close.

"Gajeel will you… please stay with me." Levy's voice quivered in her request.

She was still scared, he knew. The grocery store incident had haunted her for weeks before she confessed that she hadn't been sleeping. He didn't want to leave her as it was.

"Of course, Shorty." He said, kissing the top of her blue locks. "Go get in bed." She nodded at his demand as he slipped into the bathroom, stripping himself of his suit until he was in his boxer briefs. He took a moment to compose himself by washing his face, before he returned to her bedroom. Gajeel found Levy snuggled up under the covers, with Lily at her feet. Her blue hair spread out on the pillow under her, she was already drifting off to sleep.

Lifting the covers and sliding into bed with her, he immediately moved as close to her as possible. He watched her for a moment while she slept peacefully, like a little fairy. Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling as he prepared to think about the day's events, but Levy responded to the shift of the mattress and he found himself with her head snug on his shoulder, arms wrapped around her tiny frame and her legs intertwined with his.

His worried mind started to drift as he closed his eyes, and his consciousness began to fade, but not before he whispered quietly to the sleeping girl beside him,

"I love you, Levy."


	8. Chapter 8

For the second morning in a row, Gajeel was stirred from his slumber by the text messaging alert on his phone. At the tone, his eyes shot open. The sun was creeping it's way across the room, and a tiny, beautiful, blue haired woman in his arms began to stir, and the scarred black cat at the foot of the bed stretched and yowled. The day had begun before he was ready.

Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, he blinked away the sleep still present in his eye. He read the notification: "Gajeel, come to my office immediately. -Makarov"

He stared at the screen for a moment, rereading the message to be sure he conveyed it correctly. The Old Man knew they were leaving for Europe today, he was surprised that Makarov would bother him. It must have been important, maybe the police had caught the bastard.

A quiet moan left Levy's small mouth as she nuzzled close to his warm chest, and warm honey eyes peeked up at him while the rest of her face was hidden by the blanket she cocooned herself in. She let out a raspy "morning" that was muffled by the blankets, and it made him chuckle.

"Mornin' Short stuff."

He let his hand snake around her form under the cover and find the dip in her side, holding it and rubbing circles gently with his thumb. She practically purred under his touch, leaning closer to him for more.

"I got a text from the Boss man, I need to get down there right away." He grumbled, not anxious to leave the bed he shared with her for the first time. If there was one thing he could never get tired of, it was waking up seeing her. Although she was a blanket hog, tossed a lot in her sleep, and occasionally kicked him, she was adorable while she did it. Despite her early morning charm, a sense of concern washed over him when he realized that he needed to leave and she needed to pack.

"Are you going to be okay here by yourself with Erza and Jellal keeping watch, or do you want to come with me?" he questioned as worry washed over his face, metal stud eyebrows furrowing.

Levy avoided eye contact but nodded, still hiding under the covers.

"I think I'll invite them in for coffee and cookies." Gajeel gave her a reassuring smile, knowing that Titania would want to run across the street for cake he sent her a quick text before crawling out of bed and heading to his own room to start the day.

After taking a quick shower and dressing in his motorcycle gear, he came back to find Levy had let Jellal and Erza in, and Erza had indeed run to the bakery and was politely eating cake. Jellal sat next to her sipping coffee and Levy tried to hide a blushing smile behind her coffee cup, as if they had been speaking of something in secret before Gajeel walked into the room. He would normally inquire about her suspicious behavior, but he didn't have the time today. Instead he gave her a quick kiss goodbye, and nodded to the power couple before he took his leave.

Erza finished chewing the bite of cake in her mouth and commented after Gajeel pulled the door shut behind him.

"It's interesting…" She said as she cut off another bite from her slice, "Gajeel has never expressed interest in relationships before. And yet it seems that you two have slid into a form of comfort that takes most couples months to achieve." She lifted the fork to her mouth and consumed her cake, and Levy blushed deeper behind her coffee cup.

He had hoped that racing across town on his bike might burn off some of the anxiety he felt. His mind raced faster than his bike could go, in and out of thoughts and moments that had occurred since he had met Levy as he swerved in between cars in traffic. He mindlessly drove through lanes, his concentration stuck on the thought of Levy, his chest tightening at the thought of someone wanting to hurt her.

Since he had joined Makarov's family, referring to themselves as the Fairy Tail Guild, he had numbed himself from emotions. He had spent a long time letting his anger boil over while he worked for Jose, letting his victims feel the pain and frustration he felt after losing his father, suffering abuse in the foster system, the neglect of not having someone love him as a child should feel loved, and losing himself to drugs. The longer time went on and his resistance to the drugs built, the more violent he became. By the time Makarov had found him, he had sent dozens of men to the hospital with his brutal beatings. When he began his process to get clean, he focused his efforts on numbing those emotions, rather than dealing with them. It had been so long since he had let himself experience emotions, and he had never properly learned how to process them to begin with. And now he felt as though he was experiencing the 27 years worth of emotions that he had swept under the rug come at him all at once.

The small rundown warehouse was in front of him before he could register that he was even out of the traffic. To his surprise, he found Makarov waiting out front for him. As Gajeel approached his boss, the small elderly man turned on his heel and quickly moved into his office without saying a word. Gajeel found himself quite worried as the man who had always been direct and honest with him was delaying any information he had to relay to Gajeel. On Makarov's desk sat the metal cup Mirajane kept behind the bar for Gajeel, and a full bottle of scotch.

"Fuck."

Makarov slid into the large chair behind his desk, pouring a large glass of scotch for himself and filling Gajeel's cup. Gajeel knew that if the old man had pulled out a bottle of scotch, it couldn't be anything good. It was worse that it wasn't even 9 o'clock in the morning, and he was pouring a glass full.

"'Fuck' is right, my boy." Makarov sighed after taking a large gulp of the alcohol, as he topped off his drink.

Gajeel looked down into his cup and took a small drink before inquiring, "Is this about the incident with Levy's stalker last night?"

The look on Makarov's face seemed to darken the whole room, and fear grew quickly in the pit of Gajeel's stomach as he feared the worst.

"No, son. I'm afraid we have much bigger problems on our plate now, as well." Makarov opened the large drawer in his desk with a key that he kept in his pocket at all times. He pulled out a file, setting it on the desk and opening it with a weary look as he handed the contents to Gajeel.

"It seems that our friend Jose Porla made ties with the right people before he landed himself in prison. He was able to bribe a judge into dropping the charges held against him, and he was released on bail. There has been whispers in the alleys that he is after our heads, Gajeel."

The alcohol in his cup rippled as Gajeel's hand shook with fear. As if there wasn't enough on his plate already, chasing the shadows for a stalker who wanted to hurt the person he treasured most and leaving for a year long trip, now he had a bloodthirsty gang leader with a vendetta against him on his ass.

"Knowing Jose, however, he is too stingy to pay to send mercenaries overseas after you. This year long trip might buy us some time. He could cool off, or land himself in prison again by the time you return to the States. Until that time, Erza, Mira, and Laxus will act as my own personal bodyguards." Makarov poured himself another drink as he waited for Gajeel to absorb the information he was given.

Opening the file on the desk between them, Makarov pulled pictures of three men Gajeel recognized to be Jose's right hand heathens. Sol, a short, green haired man with a tiny mustache and a monocle, who he knew to be a real priss with a fake French accent. Totomaru, a punk ass kid with his hair dyed slit down the middle, platnium blonde on one side and jet black on the other and a large black strip tattooed across his face. He was known for setting the homes of Jose's enemies on fire. And Aria. A man larger than even Gajeel, who kept his eyes covered with a blindfold until he engaged in battle, saying that world's ugliness depressed him so much it hurt to look at.

These members were the most loyal to Jose, doing more of his dirty work than even Gajeel did. He knew them to be quite ruthless. Knowing that unlike him, they were not motivated by drugs to do a job. They were motivated only by their own intent to kill, maim, mutilate, and wreak havoc. You'd be an idiot or insane not to fear them.

Lastly was a photo of a woman he did not recognize. She had straight black hair and milky white skin. Her face was hard and serious as she looked at the camera in what seemed to be a cropped group photo.

"These faces should be familiar to you, they are the faces that you should be on the lookout for during your travels," Makarov stated as he laced his fingers through one another and left them on the desk.

"Who is the woman? I don't know her face." Gajeel responded as he pulled her photo out from the pile and handed it to Makarov.

He sighed deeply before he began to explain, "This woman is the reason for our issue. Ultear Milkovich. She is the lawyer that was able to convince- with a large sum of money, the judge Crawford Seam to drop the charges held against Jose and release him from prison."

Gajeel's brow furrowed with worry. "Is she the type that would come after me personally?"

His stomach churned in anticipation, not knowing whether this woman was a direct threat to his and Levy's well being or not.

"To be honest, Gajeel, I don't know enough about this woman to tell you. My best advice would be for you to be on high alert at all times until this issue is resolved." The exhaustion in Makarov's voice was evident. The bags under his eyes were heavy, and Gajeel could tell that he was tired. Not just without sleep, without rest. Makarov had spent his years taking care of the family he made his own. He had spent almost 50 years as a police officer, and even in retirement he still was chasing bad guys, and had them chasing him.

"He's not going to stop Makarov…. The only way this will end is with a dead body." Gajeel foretold, he knew what the outcome of the situation would be in the end. He knew Jose well enough to know what was to come.

"I'm aware of that, my child."

The entire ride home, Gajeel's anxiety rose higher and higher the closer he got. By the time his hand reached for the doorknob, he was shaking. How was he going to handle this situation? A million possibilities ran through his head. How was he supposed to keep her safe when the amount of variables to the situation was uncountable. Twisting the knob and entering the penthouse, his eyes immediately landed on a smiling Levy, book and cup of tea in hand. His heart calmed, the beat steading within his chest. His stomach settled after doing nothing but twist into knots all day. His hands stopped shaking, replaced by the urge to hold her.

His lips curled gently upwards as he quietly walked through the room to meet her, aware of the sleeping redhead on the couch. He leaned over the couch and met Levy's awaiting lips with a quick, but gentle kiss.

"Did ya finish packing?" He whispered as he lingered close to her face. He could smell the peppermint tea on her breath as she smiled and nodded.

"All ready for take off, captain." Gajeel snorted at her little joke, and retreated from their close proximity to speak with Jellal, who was seated at the table near by reading the newspaper and munching on cookies.

Gajeel slapped a hand down on the man's shoulder and gruffly murmured "Take your wife home, Fernandez."

Jellal nodded acknowledgingly, and packed the remaining cake with him to lure Erza from her sleep.

The remainder of Gajeel's packing consisted of shoving all his clothes and toothbrush into a duffle bag, since Juvia had taken the liberty to do his organizing and packing for him. It didn't take him long to shower, dress, and pack. Before he knew it, he was attempting, and failing, to get Lily in a carrier. The loud howling coming from the black cat and the long string of swear words led Levy to make her way into Gajeel's room where she found him trying to shove the cat into the door of the crate and that cat's legs holding onto the edges and a panicked look of his face.

"Damn cat, just get in the cage!" Gajeel said through gritted teeth as Lily continued to fight against him with the strength of a panther.

Covering her mouth to hide her giggles, she retreated from the room. She returned with a slice of kiwi, and took Lily into her lap calmly and let him eat the kiwi from her palm. Levy giggled as he pressed his head against her hand to request she rub his ears the way he liked so much. Within minutes, Lily had fallen asleep under Levy's ear scratching and she was able to gently set him inside of the crate.

"Fuckin' traitor, he is." Gajeel sneered at the cat, Lily yowling back at him.

Levy couldn't help but giggle at the two boys she had come to love so much in a short amount of time. They had become her family, a thing she hadn't had since she was a child. Whenever she was near Gajeel, she felt warm and safe. She knew that he would protect her, care for her, and love her. Lily was no different- she knew she held a special spot in Lily's heart by the way he had immediately taken to her, and seemed to enjoy taunting Gajeel with his affection for her. In that small moment, she knew that whatever life was to throw their way, she would be with them until the end of her days.

The time they spent at the airport was surprisingly minimal. Levy owning a private jet meant not having to wait for their flight time. Levy had some of her trusted crew members pick up their motorcycles, instruments, and the rest of their baggage ahead of time, so it was a simple matter of walking through security and getting to the terminal.

However, what should have been a simple walk through an airport set Gajeel on edge, knowing that Midnight or Jose could have been on his tail, had eyes watching him, or worse. He stood tall and stiff, staying as close to Levy as he could without giving away their relationship was anything but body guard and client. His eyes searched faces in the crowd as he sought out familiarities, but found none. He breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the private jet, whose pilot and crew were approved by Makarov as personal friends.

Gajeel followed Levy into the main cabin where they would spend their flight. There was a love seat couch with a table in front that had a bottle of champagne and glasses set out. There was a sizable television directly in front of the couch, and near the windows there were single bucket seats facing one another with a small table in between. Near the rear of the plane there was bed with curtains for privacy, and the attendant directed them towards the kitchen and restroom towards the front.

The young man serving as flight attendant, named Hibiki, took Lily's crate and strapped it into a secure spot for pet carriers before he took the liberty of serving small the champagne. Levy sat on the couch with her legs crossed, leaning back on one arm as she sipped at the bubble drink.

"Little early for drinkin', isn't it, Shorty?" Gajeel teased as he took the seat next to her.

Levy finished the gulp in her mouth and responded with a hiss between her teeth, "The alcohol helps settle my nerves a bit before take off," she explained to him as she poured another glass.

Gajeel threw his glass back in one quick swoop, finishing the drink. He didn't have the best experiences on planes. He stared into the empty glass in his hands as he leaned on his knees, his thoughts beginning to stray back to the issue at hand. He had news to break to Levy, information she needed in order to keep herself safe. His thoughts were interrupted when Hibiki returned to announce the arrival of the pilot and Levy stood to greet them.

"Miss Levy and guest, I would like to introduce you to your pilot for today's flight; the master of the plane 'Christina,' Captain Ichiya Kotobuki!" Hibiki took a bow as he backed out of the way, making way for a short, red haired man in a white captain's suit enter the plane. The atmosphere of the plane immediately was overtaken by a strong essence Gajeel could only assume was an overdose of cologne the man had sprayed on himself.

"It seems, that _destiny_ has brought us back together… Miss… _Levy_ ," The man who was shorter than even Levy grabbed her hand and spun her around.

"Oi! What do you think you're doin'?!" Gajeel gaped as he witnessed the strange man grab hold of his woman.

Levy faked the best smile should could though she looked like she might vomit when the intense amount of cologne hit her nostrils.

"Hello…. Ichiya…." She choked out while trying to hold her breath.

Ichiya's attention was suddenly taken away from Levy when he noticed another scent in the room.

"Sniff sniff…. who is this…. iron beast?" Ichiya crooned when his eyes met Gajeel's, who jumped back in response as his face dropped in fear.

"This is my boy-boyfriend," Levy stuttered, realizing that was the first time she had introduced Gajeel as such. "He is attending my tour with me as my bodyguard as well."

Ichiya gave a sharp nod, "Alas… another one off the market," Gajeel honestly couldn't tell if he was speaking about Levy or himself. "But, no matter. No one could ever come between me and my one true redheaded love….This young brute will take good care of Miss Levy, I can tell from his _parfume._ "

Gajeel's face turned four shades of red and he eyed Levy in utter confusion and whispered "What the fuck?" to which she only stifled a small laugh, and Ichiya retreated to the captain's quarters with Hibiki following.

Levy settled onto the couch and buckled herself in as the engine of the jet started. She went about her way casually, kicking her feet up onto the table and grabbing a book to read, as if she had done this a million times before. Gajeel, however, struggled with the strange buckle for a moment, and sat up straight and stiffy, with his hands on his legs as he awaited the plane to begin moving down the runway and take off.

The plane creeped forward before accelerating as fast as Gajeel frequently went on his bike, and lurched as it lifted itself off the ground. He gripped the arm of the couch with one hand, steadying himself as he breathed in sharply repeatedly. The contents of his stomach turned, and he deeply regretted drinking the alcohol. His head began to swirl around him as he struggled to focus on the settings around him, and the involuntary urge to vomit crept up in his throat, making his cheeks puff out in response.

"Gajeel? Are you okay?" A small voice tinkered in his ear and brought his focus back to her for but a moment. He mustered up the effort to answer, only muttering out a series of gurgles and "motion sickness," to which Levy responded with "Motion sickness? But you drive a motorcycle!"

Normally he would retort back at her, but his stomach threatened to heave if he so much as moved his tongue. A voice came on over the intercom that he slightly recognized, speaking words he thought he knew before fading again into spiraling despair within his own body. He felt a shift in the weight on the seat next to him, and the weight holding his body to the seat lifted. He was suddenly being tipped sideways, _oh god are we crashing on this fucking death trap?_ when suddenly his face hit a smooth and warm cushion. It was unlike any pillow he had ever known, it must have been made from the finest silk in all the worlds. His dizziness eased slightly as he felt fingers rub his earlobe, and he could swear he could hear his mother's voice singing, before he drifted off into a painless sleep.

Levy giggled to herself as she realized that she had rocked both cat and his owner to sleep in the same way, by rubbing their ears.

His consciousness continued to fade in and out for what seemed like days. Occasionally he was alert enough to hear muffled words exchanged, "Thank you for the food, Hibiki," "Gajeel, I have to pee," "Lily is awake, better let him roam around the plane," "Jeez, who knew the big tough body guard's weakness would be planes!" Eventually, after a long rest, he felt the energy to mutter a few important words to Levy before he drifted back to sleep.

"Shorty… if I get off of this god forsaken metal death trap alive, there's something important I need to speak with ya about…"

Her giggle was like fairy bells in his ears and she whispered "okay," before all the strength left his body and he fell into blackness.


End file.
